Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is over-expressed in many human cancers and its activity is required for cancer cell survival. To understand why FAS is over-expressed, we compared in breast cancer cells the utilization of fatty acids synthesized endogenously by FAS to those supplied exogenously in the culture medium. We found that endogenously synthesized fatty acids are esterified to the same lipid and phospholipid classes in the same proportions as those derived exogenously and that some endogenous fatty acids are excreted. Thus, FAS over-expression in cancer does not fulfill a specific requirement for endogenously synthesized fatty acids. We next investigated whether lipogenic activity mediated by FAS was, instead, involved in the maintenance of high glycolytic activity in cancer cells. By culturing breast cancer and non-cancer cells in anoxic conditions, we increased glycolysis 2-3 fold but observed no concomitant increase in lipogenesis. More research is needed to understand why FAS is over-expressed in cancer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/33244 |
| Date | 20 November 2012 |
| Creators | Hopperton, Kathryn |
| Contributors | Archer, Michael, Bazinet, Richard |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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