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Macrophage-mediated inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in EMT-6 murine mammary adenocarcinoma cells can be mimicked in vitro by treatment of the cells with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in combination with tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-1, or lipopolysaccharide. Conditioned supernatants obtained from activated macrophages appear to contain interferon-gamma, suggesting that inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in tumor cells was caused by synergy of IFN-gamma with other cytokines. To further characterize monokines that cause inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in tumor cells, EA13.5 macrophage-like cells were isolated and selected for inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in EMT-6 tumor cells. After stimulation with IFN-gamma and lipopolysaccharide, the EA13.5 cells released into conditioned supernatants a cytotoxic mediator that induced nitric oxide synthesis and caused lesions in the electron transport chain of EMT-6 cells similar to the lesions caused by activated peritoneal macrophages. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated that the conditioned supernatants produced by EA13.5 macrophage cells did not contain IFN-gamma. Treatment of the EA13.5 cell-conditioned supernatants with neutralizing antibody against IFN-gamma did not abrogate the inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in EMT-6 cells caused by these conditioned supernatants. This study demonstrated that unidentified macrophage cytotoxic mediators distinct from IFN-gamma are involved in the induction of nitric oxide synthesis and inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in tumor cells.

The L-arginine-dependent tumor cell cytotoxicity produced by activated macrophages (M phi) may be mediated either directly by production of nitric oxide (NO), or by induction of NO synthesis in the tumor cell. The influence of M phi NO synthesis on the release of soluble cytotoxic mediators was investigated in this study. The synthesis of M phi NO, measured as nitrite, was detected 6 h after lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggering and reached a peak level by 44 h. A concurrent decrease in M phi viability beginning at 18 h after triggering was detected during a period of 72 h in culture. Both the production of NO and loss of viability correlated with the presence of L-arginine in the incubation media and was inhibited by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMA). The medium in which LPS-triggered adherent peritoneal exudate cells were incubated was examined for the presence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), and the soluble mediators that induce mitochondrial respiratory inhibition in tumor cells. All of these effector molecules were released at peak levels into the conditioned supernatants within 12 h after LPS-triggering. The peak level obtained for each effector molecule was influenced by the media in which the M phi was incubated; however, no correlation was detected between the level of cytokines produced and the synthesis of nitrite by the M phi indicating that NO synthesis has no inhibiting effect on the initial burst of cytotoxic factors released.

Several investigators have observed increased levels of esterified oleic acid in tissue cholesterol esters and phospholipids of atherosclerotic humans and cholesterol-fed animals. However, the cause of this is still unknown. Increased synthesis, increased esterification, or both of oleic acid can account for this. In the present investigation, hepatic synthesis of oleic acid is studied in cholesterol-fed rabbits. A nearly 3-fold increase in oleic acid synthesis was observed after 3 weeks of cholesterol feeding. This increase continued for at least 6 weeks. Since acyl acceptors like glycerol-3-phosphate are known to increase liver oleic acid synthesis it is possible that the observed increased in oleic acid formation was partially due to an increased availability of acyl acceptors in the system.