Fig. 5

Exogenous lipids in the absence of adipocytes could not promote the malignant behavior of cancer cells. Mature adipocytes were replaced by 0.02% Intralipid in 3 day co-culture with SUM159PT breast cancer cells. a Bodipy staining was performed on SUM159PT cells grown alone (NC) and in medium supplemented with Intralipid. (lipids are shown in green, and nuclei are shown in blue; scale bar, 50 μm). b The TG content in the two cell populations (NC vs. Intralipid) was measured. c-d Proliferation and migration assays were employed to compare the malignant properties of non-treated cells (NC) and Intralipid-treated cells. e SUM159PT cells were not treated (NC) or treated with Intralipid for 3 days and then released similar to co-culture. Cells were collected at 0, 4 and 24 h for TG measurement, and medium was collected at 4 and 24 h for free glycerol measurement. f Differential expression of lipases, pAMPK/AMPK and FABP5 in breast cancer cells (SUM159PT) grown in Intralipid or with adipocytes. ***p < 0.001, “ns” means not significant