Fig. 1
Breast cancer cells stimulate lipolysis in mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes. a Schematic of co-culture approach. b Media non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentration following co-culture of 3T3-L1 adipocytes without (isolation) or with MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells for 24 h (four independent experiments performed in triplicate). c Glycerol release from 3T3-L1 adipocytes incubated in basal media, MCF-7-conditioned media (CM), and MDA-MB-231-conditioned media at the end of 24 h incubation (seven independent experiments performed in quadruplicate). d 3T3-L1 adipocytes triacylglycerol (TAG) content after 48 h co-culture with or without MCF-7 or MDA-MB-231 cells (two independent experiments performed in triplicate). e 3T3-L1 adipocyte Oil Red O staining of lipid droplets, f TAG content (three independent experiments performed in triplicate), and g NEFA release from lean (normal media) and obese (1 mM fatty acid mixture for 24 h) adipocytes compared to basal media levels (four independent experiments performed in duplicate). h Transfer of adipocyte-derived 3H-fatty acids from lean or obese 3T3-L1 adipocytes to MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells (three independent experiments performed in duplicate). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P ≤ 0.05 vs. controls; #P ≤ 0.05 vs. lean. b–d and g By one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test, f, h by Student’s t test