Identification of mobile cholesterol compounds in experimental gliomas by (1)H MRS in vivo: effects of ganciclovir-induced apoptosis on lipids.

This letter presents a novel identification and analysis of mobile cholesterol compounds in an experimental glioma model by (1)H MRS in vivo. The cholesterol compounds turned out to comprise as much as 17 mol% of MRS visible total lipids. The results also imply partly associated accumulation of (1)H MRS detectable cholesterol compounds and unsaturated lipids during gene therapy-induced apoptosis, and indicate that the contribution of cholesterol compounds cannot be bypassed in spectral lipid analysis. The introduced (1)H MRS approach facilitates a non-invasive follow-up of mobile cholesterol compounds, paving way for studies of tumour cholesterol metabolism in vivo.