Tumor extracellular triglycerides in mice during growth of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma

Our earlier work with Swiss-Webster mice has shown that most of the lipid in Ehrlich ascites tumor extracellular fluid is in the form of free fatty acids. This finding is in direct contradiction to earlier and subsequent reports from another laboratory that has found free fatty acids to be a very minor component and triglycerides to be the major lipid of Ehrlich ascites tumor extracellular fluid. In light of these contradictory reports, we have carried out a study patterned after that of other workers, but using our Swiss-Webster mice. As predicted from our earlier study, we have found very little triglyceride in Ehrlich ascites tumor extracellular fluid. Although we could demonstrate a significant, transient hypertriglyceridemia during tumor growth, maximum plasma triglyceride concentrations were an order of magnitude lower than those reported by other workers. In addition, and again in contrast to other reports, we found that plasma triglyceride and tumor extracellular fluid triglyceride levels in tumorous mice fell significantly with fasting. Thus, interesting differences in triglyceride metabolism between mouse and/or tumor strains seem to exist. Our present findings suggest, but do not prove, that triglycerides in the tumor extracellular fluid probably are not a major source of the rapidly turning over, tumor extracellular fluid free fatty acid in our mice.