Colorectal cancer cell growth inhibition by linoleic acid is related to fatty acid composition changes

Abstract

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) possess anti-cancer action both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we detected cell viability with methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and cell membrane permeability with propidium iodide (PI) fluorescence dyeing, and calculated cell membrane fluidity change as fluorescence anisotropy. Fatty acid content in cells was measured by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS), and the relationship between fatty acid composition and cell viability was studied. We observed that n-6 PUFA linoleic acid (LA) inhibited tumor cell growth at high concentrations (≥300 µmol/L), while low concentrations (100-200 µmol/L) seemed to promote cell proliferation. Analyses of cell membrane permeability, cell membrane fluidity, and cell fatty acid composition suggested that the anti-cancer action of LA could be related to changes in the ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs. We observed that pre-incubation of cancer cells with 100 µmol/L LA for 24 h enhanced cell sensitivity to the cytotoxic action of LA, whereas undifferentiated cell line LoVo seemed to have a distinct path in LA-induced death. These results showed that one of the mechanisms by which supplementation of LA induces cancer cell death could be altering the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs, and this may be related to cell differentiation status.

Oleate prevents palmitate-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, insulin resistance and inflammatory signaling in neuronal cells

“…1, oleate showed no such effect compared to BSA up to 600 μM. Similar to previous reports [45,46], high concentrations (≥200 μM) of DHA or linoleate alone decreased cell viability somewhat (Fig. 9A).…”

First evidence of anticancer and antimicrobial activity in Mediterranean mesopelagic species

“…This is a known compound closely related to EPA (one less double bond at position 5) with an accurate mass of 304.2402. ETA is an ω-3 fatty acid naturally present in fish oils at levels of around 1-2% 27 28 whose anticancer activity has been studied 29,30 . However, previous studies did not conclude whether or not linoleic acid is active against the cancer cells tested (including colorectal, breast and lung cancer cell lines).…”

Buffered vs. Non-Buffered Aliphatic Fatty Acids and their Anti-Proliferative Effects in Human Tumor Cell Lines

“…Studies have shown that in both whole organisms, as well as in cell cultures, saturated and unsaturated fats have the ability to impact a number of tissue and cellular metabolic functions [2][3][4][5][6]. The suggested mechanisms, by which these processes may be occurring, are thought to involve changes in cell membrane fluidity, and cell membrane receptor availability [7][8][9][10], as well as suppression, or up-regulation of cell-to-cell growth factor signaling [1,11,12], and inflammatory factor generation [13,14]. Saturated vs. unsaturated lipid mediated cellular behavioral changes have been shown to impact the overall behavior [15] and the fluidity of peripheral muscle tissue.…”

“…Saturated vs. unsaturated lipid mediated cellular behavioral changes have been shown to impact the overall behavior [15] and the fluidity of peripheral muscle tissue. A direct relationship exists between an increase in polyunsaturated fatty acids and membrane fluidity, and the opposite (rigidity) in the presence of some monosaturated and predominantly saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol [10]. Membrane fluidity is believed to influence the capability of some cancer cells to metastasize [16].…”