Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of fish oil on cancer cachexia and host liver metabolism in rats with prostate tumors

  • Article
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether tumor-induced cachexia and aberrations in host liver metabolism, induced by the MAT-LyLu variant of the Dunning prostate tumor, could be prevented by ω3 fatty acids from fish oil. On day 0, adult Copenhagen-Fisher rats fed normal chowad libitum were inoculated with 106 MAT-LyLu cells (n=14) or saline (n=9). On day 7, when tumors were palpable, four tumor-bearing (TB) and four nontumorbearing (NTB) rats were put on isocaloric diets with 50% of total energy as fish oil. The introduction of fish oil-enriched diets caused a reduction in energy intake to less than half of the energy intake by animals fed normal diets during days 7–14 (difference by dietary group: NTB,P<0.001; TB,P<0.001). During days 14–21, energy intake in fish oil-fed animals returned to approximately 75% of energy intake by animals fed normal diets (difference by dietary group: NTB,P<0.003; TB,P=0.001). Carcass weight of animals on day 21, when the study was terminated, was significantly related to initial weight (P=0.05) and mean food intake during the study (P=0.01). When data were adjusted for these variables using analysis of covariance, with NTB animals on normal diets being the reference group, significant loss of carcass weight was observed in TB animals on normal diets only (mean ±SEM 58±10 g loss,P<0.001), but not in TB animals on fish oil diets (8±18 g loss,P=0.67). This positive effect of fish oil diets on carcass weight in TB animals was statistically significant (50±19 g,P<0.02), implicating that the fish oil enriched diet inhibited tumor-induced weight loss by more than 85%. No effect of fish oil diets on tumor growth was detected. In all TB animals, regardless of diet, hepatic [Pi]/adenosine triphosphate] ratios measured by31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)in vivo andin vitro were elevated, and absolute concentrations of phosphocholine, glycerophosphocho-line, glycerophosphoethanolamine and glucose-6-phosphate as determined by31P MRSin vitro were reduced. Ultrastructural studies of liver tissue revealed increased numbers of mitochondria and increased amounts of endoplasmic reticulum in the host liver of TB animals, without differences between dietary group. In conclusion, fish oil supplementation partially inhibited MAT-LyLu tumor-induced cachexia, but did not prevent the majority of31P MRS-detectable alterations in host liver metabolism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ADP:

adenosine diphosphate

ATP:

adenosine triphosphate

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

eicosapentaenoic acid

F6P:

fructose-6-phosphate

GPC:

glycerophosphocholine

GPE:

glycerophosphoethanolamine

G3P:

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

G6P:

glucose-6-phosphate

MRS:

magnetic resonance spectroscopy

NTB:

nontumor-bearing;sn-GP,sn-glycerol-3-phosphate

TB:

tumor-bearing

TR:

repetition time

References

  1. Galli, C., and Butrum, R. (1991)World Rev. Nutr. Diet. 66, 446–461.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Simopoulos, A.P. (1991)Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 54, 438–463.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bégin, M.E. (1989)Nutrition, 5, 258–260.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Fernandes, G., and Venkatraman, J.T. (1991)World Rev. Nutr. Diet. 66, 488–503.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cave, W.T. (1991)World Rev. Nutr. Diet 66, 462–476.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Borgeson, C.E., Pardini, L., Pardini, R.S., and Reitz, R.C. (1989)Lipids 24, 290–295.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Man-Fan Wan, J., Kanders, B.S., Kowalchuk, M., Knapp, H., Szeluga, D.J., Bagley, J., and Blackburn, G.L. (1991)World Rev. Nutr. Diet. 66, 477–487.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Tisdale, M.J., and Dhesi, J.K. (1990)Cancer Res. 50, 5022–5026.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Dagneli, P.C., Bell, J.D., Williams, S.C.R., Bates, T.E., Abel, P.D., and Foster, C.S. (1993)Br. J. Cancer 67, 1303–1309.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Dagnelie, P.C., Bell, J.D., Williams, S.C.R., Cox, I.J., Menon, D.K., Sargentoni, J., and Coutts, G.A. (1993)NMR Biomed 6, 157–162.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bashir, I., Sikora, K., and Foster, C.S. (1990)Biochem. Soc. Trans. 18, 968–969.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. The Official Methods and Recommended Practices of the American Oil Chemists' Society (Firestone, D., ed.) 4th edn., pp. 1–2, American Oil Chemists' Society, Champaign.

  13. Galloway, S.B. (ed.) (1989)Biomedical Test Materials Program: Drug Master Files for Biomedical Test Materials, Produced from Refined Menhaden Oil, and Their Placebos, p. 4.7, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Marine Fisheries Service, Washignton, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bates, T.E., Williams, S.R., and Gadian, D.G. (1989)Magn. Res. Med. 12, 145–150.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cox, I.J., Menon, D.K., Sargentoni, J., Bryant, D.J., Collins, A.G., Coutts, G.A., Iles, R.A., Bell, J.D., Benjamin, I.S., Gilbey, S., Hodgson, H.J.F., and Morgan, M.Y. (1992)J. Hepatol. 14, 265–275.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Bates, T.E., Williams, S.R., Busza, A.A., and Gadian, D.G. (1988)NMR Biomed. 1, 67–73.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Bell, J.D., Cox, I.J., Peden, C.J., Menon, D.K., Sargentoni, J., Foster, C.S., Watanapa, P., Iles, R.A., and Uranjak, J. (1994)Biochem. Biophys. Acta, in press.

  18. Millonig, G. (1961)J. Appl. Phys. 32, 1637 (Abstract B26).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Reynolds, E.S. (1963)J. Cell. Biol. 17, 208–212.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Bibby, M.C., Double, J.A., Ali, S.A., Fearon, K.C.H., Brennan, R.A., and Tisdale, M.J. (1987)J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 78, 539–546.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Tisdale, M.J., and Beck, S.A. (1991)Biochem. Pharmacol. 41, 103–107.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Tisdale, M.J. (1991)Br. J. Cancer 63, 337–342.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Otto, D.A., Tsai, C.E., Baltzell, J.K., and Wooten, J.T. (1991)Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1082, 37–48.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Dagnelie, P.C., Rietveld, T., Swart, G.R., Stijnen, Th., and Van den Berg, J.W.O. (1994)Lipids, 29, 41–45.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Halminski, M.A., Marsh, J.B., and Harrison, E.H. (1991)J. Nutr. 121, 1554–1561.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Internal Medicine II, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Pieter C. Dagnelie

  2. NMR Unit, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, W12 0HS, London, UK

    Jimmy D. Bell

  3. NMR Facility Department of Chemistry, Queen Mary and Westfield College, E1 4NS, London, UK

    Steve C. R. Williams

  4. Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, WC1N 3BG, London, UK

    Timothy E. Bates

  5. Department of Urology, Hammersmith Hospital, W12 0HS, London, UK

    Paul D. Abel

  6. Department of Histopathology, Hammersmith Hospital, W12 0HS, London, UK

    Christopher S. Foster

Authors
  1. Pieter C. Dagnelie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jimmy D. Bell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Steve C. R. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Timothy E. Bates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paul D. Abel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Christopher S. Foster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

About this article

Cite this article

Dagnelie, P.C., Bell, J.D., Williams, S.C.R. et al. Effect of fish oil on cancer cachexia and host liver metabolism in rats with prostate tumors. Lipids 29, 195–203 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536729

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536729

Keywords

Search

Navigation