1. Rats bearing the Yoshida ascites hepatoma AH-130 showed an important decrease in white adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity as compared with non-tumour bearing rats. This was associated with a lower adipose tissue mass, as estimated from the weight of the lumbar fat-pads. Conversely, lipoprotein lipase activity was markedly increased in brown adipose tissue and heart.
2. These changes were associated with a distinct hyperlipaemia, essentially manifested as an increase in circulating triacylglycerol levels, whereas no changes were observed in glycaemia.
3. Tumour-bearing rats were treated with a polyclonal anti-murine tumour necrosis factor-α antibody or with a non-immune IgG preparation. Control animals were either untreated or received a nonimmune IgG preparation. Anti-tumour necrosis factor-α treatment resulted in a significant increase in lipoprotein lipase activity in white adipose tissue in animals bearing a tumour growing exponentially (day 4 after inoculation) as compared with the animals receiving a non-immune goat IgG preparation. In addition, animals bearing an stationary tumour (day 7 after inoculation) and submitted to anti-tumour necrosis factor-α treatment had a higher adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity as compared with the IgG- or the non-treated groups. Correspondingly, circulating triacylglycerol levels were markedly decreased, with a lower hyperlipaemia than in control tumour-bearing rats.
4. These observations suggest that tumour necrosis factor-α is involved in activating the lipid metabolic changes that develop in rats after transplantation of a fast-growing tumour.
