PANCREATIC-CANCER CELL REGULATION BY LIPIDS AND BY BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH-FACTOR EXPRESSION

High fat intake is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Lipids may act either directly or in cooperation with growth-promoting polypeptides. in this study, thr role of serum lipids, and mainly the often express ed intracellular basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) isoforms in can cer cells, was analyzed in pancreatic tumor cell proliferation. Serum lipids alone induced a 1.9-fold increase of human pancreatic cancer ce ll growth (p < 0.001). Treatment with bFGF had a weak mitogenic effect (1.2- to 1.3-fold increase) compared with those of insulin and transf errin (1.7- to 1.6-fold increase, respectively). The bFGF expression b y a rat pancreatic cancer cell line that was transfected with bFGF cDN As modified cell lipid contents and induced a higher proliferation rat e than that found with the exogenous bFGF. Combined extra-and intracel lular bFGFs increased cell growth by two to three times (p < 0.001), r egardless the presence of extracellular lipids. The results obtained r eflect the direct mitogenic effect of serum lipids and suggest that th e endogenous bFGF of high molecular weight may be implicated in pancre atic cancer cell growth. By modifying cell lipids. bFGFs may interfere with other cell functions, Like signal transduction.