Reduced concentrations of Z protein in Morris hepatomas. Possible role in abnormal regulation of lipid metabolism

The cytoplasmic concentration of Z protein (Mr approximately 12,000) was significantly reduced in a series of implanted Morris hepatomas with varying degrees of differentiation. Approximately half of the [14C]palmitoyl-CoA added to cytosol fractions from control or host livers was bound to the Z protein region whereas a much smaller proportion was bound to this region in the cytosol of nine Morris hepatomas studied. The possible implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the abnormal regulation of lipid metabolism in hepatomas.