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Fig. 5 | Breast Cancer Research

Fig. 5

From: Alterations in arginine and energy metabolism, structural and signalling lipids in metastatic breast cancer in mice detected in plasma by targeted metabolomics and lipidomics

Fig. 5

Changes in lipid fractions detected in plasma in a murine model of 4T1 metastatic breast cancer indicating alterations in membrane structure and lipid signalling. Increase of phospholipase A2 activity observed as a decrease in total plasma phosphatidylcholines (a) and an increase of lysophosphatidylocholines (b). Changes in diacyl chain phosphatidylcholine fractions: decrease in diester-bound phosphatidylcholines (c) and increase in ester-ether-bound (plasmalogen) fraction (d). Decrease in unsaturation of plasma lipids, measured as a ratio of polyunsaturated lipids to saturated lipids (e). Increased short-chain phospholipid fraction (f). Increase in arachidonic acid release, measured indirectly as a sum of specific ratios of most abundant lysophosphatidylocholines to phosphatidylcholines indicating release of arachidonic acid (LysoPC 16:0/PC 36:4, LysoPC 16:1/PC 36:1, LysoPC 18:0/ PC 38:4, LysoPC 18:1/PC 38:5, LysoPC18:2/PC 38:6) (g) and decrease of lysophosphatidylocholine-containing arachidonic acid (h). Increase of total amount of sphingomyelins (SMs) in 4T1 tumour-bearing mice (i). Changes in the plasma concentration of sphingosine-1-phosphate (j). Empty bars represent control animals, and black bars represent tumour-bearing mice. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 10). The data were analysed with either analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (Total PC ae/Total PC, Lyso PC a 20:4/Total Lyso PC, Total SM/Total PC) or a non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA (Total PC, Total Lyso PC/Total PC, Total PC aa/Total PC, PUFA (PC)/SFA (PC), Short AcPC/Total PC, AA release, S-1-P), depending on the normality of distribution and variance homogeneity (F test), with statistical significance set at *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

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