Manipulation of Fatty Acid Composition in Animal Cells Grown in Culture

The fatty acid composition of animal cells cultured in serum-free medium can be manipulated when the synthesis of endogenous fatty acids is inhibited by a biotin analog and fatty acids are supplied in the medium as detergent esters of Tween. When mouse LM cells were grown in medium supplemented with Tween-19:0 (an ester of Tween and nonadecanoic acid), odd chain fatty acid content of cellular phospholipids and neutral lipids increased from 1% to 75%. Concurrently, the saturated fatty acid content increased from 27% to 85%. Similar alterations in fatty acid content have been observed when BHK₂₁ cells are subjected to the same enrichment regime. The ability to control the fatty acid composition of cultured animal cells is a prerequisite to investigations into the role of the membrane lipid physical state in processes unique to these cells.