Changes in (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells produced by alteration of membrane fatty acid composition.

The fatty acid composition of plasma membrane derived from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells was altered in vivo by changing the dietary lipid of the tumor-bearing mice. The activity of (sodium + potassium)-adenosinetriphosphatase ((Na+ + K+ATPase), in partially purified plasma membranes, was measured ass a function of temperature. Arrhenius plots of the data were biphasic. Striking differences, dependent on the membrane fatty acid composition, were observed in the transition temperature and in the energies of activation below the transition temperature. The transition temperatures for the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase of plasma membrane derived from tumor cells grown in mice fed a regular chow diet containing a mixture of fatty acids (PMC), a 16% sunflower oil diet (PMSU), or a 4% tristearin diet (PMTS) were 20, 21, and 13.5 degrees C, respectively...