Noriko Mori1, Kristine Glunde1, Tomoyo Takagi1, Lin Xiong1, Flonne Wides1, Zaver Bhujwalla1
1JHU ICMIC Program, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Both tumor cells in culture and solid tumor models are essential tools to study cancer biology. Lipids can function as energy storage molecules, structural components of cell membranes and signaling molecules. To understand the differences in lipid components between tumor cells in culture and solid tumors, we compared 1H MRS of lipid-soluble cell or tumor extracts derived from prostate and breast cancer cell lines. Significant differences in fatty acid:cholesterol ratio, the degree of fatty acid unsaturation and phosphatidylcholine:phosphatidylethanolamine ratio, between cells in culture and in tumors, demonstrate the importance of the tumor microenvironment in lipid components.