Studies of lipid class and fatty acid profiles of rat mammary tumors induced by 7, 12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene.

The lipid class and fatty acid composition profiles of mammary glands of female rats fed a nutritionally adequate diet are compared to those of tumors induced in the mammary glands by intravenous injection of dimethylbenz(a)anthracene of animals fed the same diet. Ca. 95% of the lipids of the mammary glands of the control group of animals consisted of triglycerides; glycolipids and phospholipids were present in only minor amounts. In contrast, the lipids of the mammary tumors contained much lower amounts of neutral lipids and higher concentrations of phospholipids. The glycolipid fraction was a minor component of both tissues but differed greatly in composition. The composition of the phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions, particulary the latter, of the mammary tumors also differed from that of the mammary glands of the control animals. The neutral lipids of the tumor tissues contained elevated levels of free fatty acids and cholesterol and much lower concentrations of triglyceride compared to the mammary gland lipids. Differences also were observed in the fatty acid composition of tumor and mammary gland lipid. The greatest differences occurred in the concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids which were generally much higher in the tumor lipids.