Hepatoma, host liver, and normal rat liver neutral lipids as affected by diet

Groups of normal and hepatoma (7288CTC) bearing rats were maintained on normal chow and fat-free diets for 4 weeks. Normal liver, host liver, and hepatoma neutral lipids were examined in detail and compared. Water content, unaffected by diet was: hepatoma, 82 percent; host liver, 71 percent; and normal liver, 67 percent. The fat-free diet had no effect upon the hepatoma neutral lipids but elevated the triglyceride level in normal and host liver, shifted the triglyceride carbon number distribution to lower mol wt, and elevated the percentage of monoenoic acids in triglycerides and cholesteryl esters. Host triglyceride concentrations were ca. half, and cholesterol levels were reduced moderately relative to normal liver values. Hepatoma cholesterol levels were higher and triglyceride concentrations lower than normal and host liver values. Hepatoma triglycerides differed dramatically from liver and were characterized by increased concentrations of high mol wt species and a fivefold increase in the percentage of C-20 and C-22 fatty acids. The percentage of C-20 and C-22 fatty acids in hepatoma cholesteryl esters also increased ca. fivefold relative to liver. The data indicate that the systems that regulate triglyceride and cholesteryl ester fatty acid composition in liver do not control the compositions of these lipid classes in this hepatoma. The unchanged high level of essential fatty acids in the hepatoma lipids from the fat-free fed animals demonstrates the hepatoma's ability to absorb and conserve specific fatty acids.