A P-31 AND H-1-NMR INVESTIGATION IN-VITRO OF NORMAL AND ABNORMAL HUMAN LIVER

Spectral changes in human hepatic tumours and possible systemic effects of tumour on host liver were assessed by P-31 and H-1 in vitro NMR spectroscopy. The H-1 and P-31 spectra from liver tumour biopsies showed significant elevation in phosphoethanolamine, phosphocholine, taurine, citrate, alanine, lactate and glycine, and significant reduction in GPE (glycerophosphoethanol-amine), GPC (glycerophosphocholine), creatine and threonine compared to histologically normal tissue. P-31-NMR spectra obtained from histologically normal tissue within tumour-bearing livers showed significant elevation in phosphoethanolamine and phosphocholine compared to data from liver biopsies from nontumour-bearing patients (pancreatitis). These results suggest that alterations in membrane metabolism in host liver can be detected by P-31-NMR.