Effects of Oleic and Stearic Acids on Development of Azaserine-Induced Pancreatic Carcinogenesis in Rats: Hanges in Fatty Acid Composition and Development of Atypical Acinar Cell Foci

Dietary fat has been shown to enhance pancreatic carcinogenesis, but little is known of the effect of individual fatty acids. Administration of diet with altered fatty acid contents appears to effect the composition of rat pancreatic acinar cells. If administration of fatty acids can indeed alter the tissue fatty acid composition of pancreas, and can effect the development of preneoplastic foci, then it is possible that this may reflect in the target cells. In this study, in order to examine the particular effects of unsaturated (oleic) and saturated (stearic) fatty acids in development of pancreatic carcinogenesis, the fatty acid profiles of pancreatic tissues have been analyzed at a single time period (12 months). The findings of this study showed that in azaserine initiated oleic acid fed rats (AzOl Group) oleic acid caused an enrichment of tissue oleic acid content which was accompanied by a decrease in polyunsaturated linoleic, arachidonic and saturated stearic fatty acid levels. The results of this study may suggest that oleic acid can block the desaturation/elongation reactions leading from linoleic to arachidonic acid that polyunsaturated fatty acids may promote pancreatic carcinogenesis in this manner. The possibility remains that oleic acid may enhance tumorigenesis by a mechanism independent of prostaglandin production.