THE COMPOSITION AND BIOSYNTHESIS OF LIPIDS IN HUMAN ADIPOSE TISSUES*

Abstract

The lipid composition and lipid biosynthesis of normal human subcutaneous adipose tissue was compared to lipoma from the same subject. No qualitative or quantitative differences were found in the fatty acid composition between the normal adipose tissue and the benign fat tumor. It was further determined that there was no significant variation in the fatty acids of the subcutaneous fat among the 20 subjects studied regardless of the age, sex, race, or ethnic origin. The average in vitro rate of acetate-1-C14 incorporation into the mixed lipids was found to be 5 times greater in the lipoma than in the normal adipose tissue of the same subject. Since no differences in the rate of acetate oxidation or rate of transfer of newly synthesized lipid to the medium were found between the normal and tumor tissue, it is suggested that a disturbance in lipid synthesis is a major factor leading to fat accumulation in the lipoma.