Abstract #1994

DeBerardinis R, Thompson C, Mancuso A

To match their high growth rates, tumor cells often have elevated levels of enzymes involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis, which are essential for phospholipid formation. Inhibition of these enzymes has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy and pilot studies in model systems have yielded optimistic results. To determine if fatty-acyl synthesis can be non-invasively monitored with 13C NMR, we examined human glioma cells during proliferation in medium containing [1,6-13C2]glucose. The results demonstrated that 4 distinct fatty acyl resonances could be observed in real time. In future studies, fatty-acyl labeling rates from other sustrates such as glutamine will be determined.