Biomaterial Database

Alterations of cellular lipids in rat thymocytes during cell cycle progression. 1988

G Gross, and M Danzl, and W Fischer, and K Brand

Institute of Biochemistry, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, F.R.G.

This study provides information on the lipid content and composition of rat thymocytes during cell cycle progression. Cultured rat thymocytes were stimulated by concanavalin A and interleukin-2 to enter the cell cycle and to proliferate. At indicated intervals during a 96 h culture, cells were analyzed for lipid content and lipid synthesis. A growth-related 3.8-fold increase in the cellular cholesterol and a 2.8-fold increase in the phospholipid content was observed after 48 h of culture. Cholesterol synthesis, measured by [14C]acetate incorporation, increased 34-fold, whereas the synthesis of the other lipids was enhanced only 15-fold. Concerning the percentage distribution of the total fatty acids, arachidonic acid showed a significant decline between 24 and 72 h of culture, being mainly caused by the release of arachidonic acid from phosphatidylcholine. Addition of actinomycin D, an inhibitor of DNA replication, prevented the decline of cellular arachidonic acid content in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that both the pronounced rise of the cholesterol content as well as the decline of arachidonic acid content are closely linked to cell proliferation.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D008055	Lipids	A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Lipid
D009829	Oleic Acids	A group of fatty acids that contain 18 carbon atoms and a double bond at the omega 9 carbon.	Octadecenoic Acids,Acids, Octadecenoic,Acids, Oleic
D010169	Palmitic Acids	A group of 16-carbon fatty acids that contain no double bonds.	Acids, Palmitic
D010743	Phospholipids	Lipids containing one or more phosphate groups, particularly those derived from either glycerol (phosphoglycerides see GLYCEROPHOSPHOLIPIDS) or sphingosine (SPHINGOLIPIDS). They are polar lipids that are of great importance for the structure and function of cell membranes and are the most abundant of membrane lipids, although not stored in large amounts in the system.	Phosphatides,Phospholipid
D002453	Cell Cycle	The complex series of phenomena, occurring between the end of one CELL DIVISION and the end of the next, by which cellular material is duplicated and then divided between two daughter cells. The cell cycle includes INTERPHASE, which includes G0 PHASE; G1 PHASE; S PHASE; and G2 PHASE, and CELL DIVISION PHASE.	Cell Division Cycle,Cell Cycles,Cell Division Cycles,Cycle, Cell,Cycle, Cell Division,Cycles, Cell,Cycles, Cell Division,Division Cycle, Cell,Division Cycles, Cell
D002784	Cholesterol	The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils.	Epicholesterol
D005227	Fatty Acids	Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid. Fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated (FATTY ACIDS, UNSATURATED). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Aliphatic Acid,Esterified Fatty Acid,Fatty Acid,Fatty Acids, Esterified,Fatty Acids, Saturated,Saturated Fatty Acid,Aliphatic Acids,Acid, Aliphatic,Acid, Esterified Fatty,Acid, Saturated Fatty,Esterified Fatty Acids,Fatty Acid, Esterified,Fatty Acid, Saturated,Saturated Fatty Acids
D005260	Female		Females
D000085	Acetates	Derivatives of ACETIC ACID. Included under this heading are a broad variety of acid forms, salts, esters, and amides that contain the carboxymethane structure.	Acetate,Acetic Acid Esters,Acetic Acids,Acids, Acetic,Esters, Acetic Acid