title: The PPARα agonist fenofibrate suppresses B-cell lymphoma in mice by modulating lipid metabolism.
abstract: Obesity is associated with an increased risk for malignant lymphoma development. We used Bcr/Abl transformed B cells to determine the impact of aggressive lymphoma formation on systemic lipid mobilization and turnover. In wild-type mice, tumor size significantly correlated with depletion of white adipose tissues (WAT), resulting in increased serum free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations which promote B-cell proliferation in vitro. Moreover, B-cell tumor development induced hepatic lipid accumulation due to enhanced hepatic fatty acid (FA) uptake and impaired FA oxidation. Serum triglyceride, FFA, phospholipid and cholesterol levels were significantly elevated. Consistently, serum VLDL/LDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels were drastically increased. These findings suggest that B-cell tumors trigger systemic lipid mobilization from WAT to the liver and increase VLDL/LDL release from the liver to promote tumor growth. Further support for this concept stems from experiments where we used the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) agonist and lipid-lowering drug fenofibrate that significantly suppressed tumor growth independent of angiogenesis and inflammation. In addition to WAT depletion, fenofibrate further stimulated FFA uptake by the liver and restored hepatic FA oxidation capacity, thereby accelerating the clearance of lipids released from WAT. Furthermore, fenofibrate blocked hepatic lipid release induced by the tumors. In contrast, lipid utilization in the tumor tissue itself was not increased by fenofibrate which correlates with extremely low expression levels of PPARα in B-cells. Our data show that fenofibrate associated effects on hepatic lipid metabolism and deprivation of serum lipids are capable to suppress B-cell lymphoma growth which may direct novel treatment strategies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Lipid Metabolism in Cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Suman Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Pooja
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Wael
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Al Zoughbi
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schauer
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Claudel
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sexl
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vesely
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Birner-Gruenberger
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kratky
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trauner
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hoefler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood; D011345:Fenofibrate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000819:agonists*
chemical_list: D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D047493:PPAR alpha; D011345:Fenofibrate
keywords: B-cell lymphoma; Cachexia; Fenofibrate; Lipid metabolism; PPAR; Tumor growth