Influence of dietary fats on circulating amino acid profile in experimental breast cancer

Abstract

Amino acid levels are tightly regulated through a continuous cycle of protein formation/degradation to maintain neutral protein balance. Tumor cells require a greater amount of amino acids for the synthesis of new proteins and nucleic acids; therefore, changes in the circulating amino acid profile may be detected and could be used to establish a specific profile for each type of cancer. However, the influence of dietary compounds, which could alter these patterns, has been described in cancer.Here we analyzed the effects of several dietary fats [extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil and sunflower oil enriched with oleic acid] together with standard commercial diet, on serum free amino acids in rats with N-methyl-nitrosourea-induced breast cancer. We examined the changes in circulating free amino acid levels, as well as if a specific amino acid profile existed and whether the type of dietary fat modified this profile. We found changes in several amino acids, including aspartic acid, glutamine, glycine, 1-methyl-histidine, 3-methyl-histidine, ornithine, taurine and alanine, depending on the type of dietary fat used. Our results indicate that the establishment of a specific amino acid profile for breast cancer could be influenced by external factors such as dietary fat.