Methods to assess lipid accumulation in cancer cells.

Abstract

Oncogenesis and tumor progression are associated with significant alterations in cellular metabolism. One metabolic pathway that is commonly deregulated in malignant cells is de novo lipogenesis. Lipogenesis is indeed highly upregulated in several types of cancer, a phenomenon that is linked to tumor progression and poor prognosis. Steroid hormones play an essential role in the growth of a variety of cancers and have been shown to increase the expression and activity of several lipogenic factors, including fatty acid synthase and sterol regulatory element-binding proteins. Such an altered gene expression profile promotes lipid biogenesis and may result in the accumulation of neutral lipids, which become visible as cytoplasmic lipid droplets. By using breast and prostate cancer cells exposed to steroid hormones as a model, here we describe methods for the direct qualitative and quantitative assessment of neutral lipid accumulation in malignant cells.

• Authors: Jørgen Sikkeland, Yang Jin, Fahri Saatcioglu
• Journal: Methods in enzymology (Methods Enzymol) Vol. 542 Pg. 407-23 ( 2014) ISSN: 1557-7988 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24862278 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Azo Compounds
• Coloring Agents
• oil red O

Topics

• Azo Compounds (chemistry)
• Biochemistry (methods)
• Breast Neoplasms (metabolism)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Coloring Agents (chemistry)
• Female
• Humans
• Lipid Metabolism
• Male
• Prostatic Neoplasms (metabolism)