Uptake and metabolism of exogenous eicosa-8,11,14-trienoic acid in minimal deviation hepatoma 7288 C cells.

Minimal deviation hepatoma 7288 C cells were cultured in Swim's medium containing 10% serum for 48 hr. The growth medium was replaced with serum free media containing different concentrations of [1-14C] eicosa-8,11,14-trienoic acid and the cells were incubated for 24 hr. Incorporation into cell lipids, oxidation to CO2, and desaturation to arachidonic acid were studied. The oxidation of the acid was very low. It was preferentially incorporated into the polar lipids of the cell. The incorporation depended on the number of cells and fatty acid concentration. Saturation of the cells with the acid was reached when 144.7 nmoles per mg of cellular protein were incorporated. The acid was desaturated readily to arachidonic acid. The nmoles of eicosatrienoic acid converted to arachidonic acid per mg of cellular protein were hyperbolic function of the acid incorporated. Maximal desaturation, 23 nmoles per mg of cellular protein, was reached when the cells were saturated with the acid. The calculations of the desaturation capacity and of the endogenous pool of eicosatrienoic acid available for desaturation in the cell are discussed.