Abstract
Fatty acids have various physiological effects on melanoma. For example, palmitic acid (PA) increases melanin levels; linoleic acid and DHA decrease melanin levels; and DHA suppresses tumor growth. In this study, we focused on the relationship between the structure of fatty acids and their physiological effects in melanoma to examine the likely mechanisms of action. We showed that saturated fatty acids and PUFAs display opposing effects on melanin content in melanoma cells. Likewise, PA and EPA have opposing effects in terms of actin polymerization. Our findings suggest that PA and EPA change melanin content in melanoma to alter melanosome trafficking by modulating actin polymerization. Here, we also examined the mechanism of the anti-tumor effect of DHA. We found that DHA interacts with receptor for activated C kinase 1 and represses melanoma cell proliferation by suppressing protein kinase C signaling. Our results suggest a new mechanism to explain the physiological effects of fatty acids.
Highlights
Fatty acids have various physiological effects on melanoma
To examine Tyr activity of B16F10 cells cultured in the presence of fatty acids, we measured the DOPA contents of B16F10 cells with LC/LC/hybrid quadrupole TOFMS (QTOFMS)
Several studies have examined the physiological effects of fatty acids on melanoma
Summary
Fatty acids have various physiological effects on melanoma. We focused on the relationship between the structure of fatty acids and their physiological effects in melanoma to examine the likely mechanisms of action. We showed that saturated fatty acids and PUFAs display opposing effects on melanin content in melanoma cells. Our findings suggest that PA and EPA change melanin content in melanoma to alter melanosome trafficking by modulating actin polymerization. Our results suggest a new mechanism to explain the physiological effects of fatty acids.—Yamada, H., M. Effect of fatty acids on melanogenesis and tumor cell growth in melanoma cells. Fatty acids are major components of triacylglycerol and phospholipids They are classified in terms of carbon chain length and degree of unsaturation. Lipids in mammals almost always comprise long chain fatty acids with more than 16 carbon atoms.
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