Daniel-Joseph Leung1,2,
E. James Delikatny2
1Department of
Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 2Department
of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Observations of intracellular lipid (particularly triglyceride) accumulation in the form of MR-visible mobile lipids and lipid droplets have been associated with apoptosis and necrosis in a variety of cancer models. Here we use MRS in combination with fluorescent fatty acids to assess the process of mobile lipid formation in DU145 prostate cancer cells. This assay is then used to screen DU145 cells against a range of anticancer drugs, resulting in measured fluorescence indicative of a range of lipid response. This approach, used as a screening tool in conjunction with MRS, will aid in the functional dissection of the contributing pathways involved in lipid formation in cancer cells undergoing chemotherapy.