Composition of, and [14C]acetate incorporation into, lipids of rat Sertoli cells in culture.

Primary cultures of rat Sertoli cells were used for the determination of their lipid and fatty acid composition and for a demonstration of their ability to incorporate 14C from [14C]acetate into fatty acids esterified in the cellular lipids. Similar fatty acid compositions were observed in 9-day cultures of Sertoli cells of rats aged 3, 4 or 5 weeks. Cultures of Sertoli cells of 5-week-old rats had relatively less palmitic, linoleic and arachidonic acids and more palmitoleic, stearic, oleic and docosatetraenoic acids than non-cultured cells from the same pool. No difference between these was observed in phospholipid concentration, but the cultured cells had a greater concentration of both total cholesterol and triacylglycerols than did the non-cultured cells. 14C from [14C]acetate added to the culture medium on the 7th (48-h incubation) or 8th (24-h incubation) day was incorporated into fatty acids esterified in cellular lipids. Major incorporation was into phospholipids and triacylglycerols, but cholesterol also was labeled. The fatty acids containing most of the 14C were the saturated fatty acids, oleic acid and docosatetraenoic acid (products of both de novo synthesis and elongation reactions).