Profiling di‐ and tri‐glyceride species in weight‐controlled mice may be associated with cancer preventive mechanism

Abstract

Weight control by dietary calorie restriction (DCR) or exercise has been shown to prevent cancer in a mouse skin cancer model. However, the mechanisms are not well defined. Lipidomics using electrospray ionization MS/MS system was employed in this study to profile triglyceride (TG) and diglyceride (DG) species in both murine skin and plasma samples. CD‐1 mice were randomly assigned into 4 groups: ad lib‐fed sedentary control, ad lib‐fed exercise (AE), exercise but pair‐fed at isocaloric diet of control (PE), and 20% DCR. After 10‐wks, body weight and body fat composition significantly decreased in the groups of DCR and PE but not AE when compared with the controls. DCR had the lowest levels of TG species for both plasma (16:0, 18:0, 18:1) and skin tissue (18:1, 18:3, 20:4). While DCR had the lowest amount of total DG for skin tissues, it was the richest in longer, polyunsaturated species (16:0/20:2, 16:0/20:4, 18:0/20:3, 18:1/20:4). PE had a lowering effect in TG species for both plasma and skin. PE was also the lowest in total plasma DG levels. DCR may have a stronger effect in lowering TG levels, but both forms of weight control were effective in reducing TG and DG levels. This new approach of profiling TG and DG species provides novel insight of information that may lead to understanding of weight control's mechanisms for cancer prevention (supported by NIH CA167678).