Search

In this study we report an in vitro 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H MRS) and a reversed phase High Performance Liquid Cromatography (HPLC) investigations of water soluble metabolites obtained from 10 human meningiomas.

A molecular structure — biological function relationship has to exist for cyclic nucleotides (cGMP and cAMP) which are at the basis of important biochemical events (i. e. second messengers according to the Sutherland’s hypothesis).

In vivo and in vitro NMR of brain tissues allow for the identification of several substances which are present in different amount in the normal and neoplastic brain tissues. In this work we report the in vivo and in vitro NMR spectra of a glioblastoma, one of the most common cerebral neoplasms, with the aim of characterizing the main metabolic features of these astrocytic tumors.

The in vivo Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H MRS) is a non invasive technique useful to study many metabolites in the normal and pathologic human brain [1]These include: N-acetyl aspartate (N A A) the poor presence of which could be ascribed to loss of neuronal cells in the tumor mass[2]; choline (C h o) derivatives due to cell proliferation processes (neoplastic cell proliferation included) and also to cell membrane destruction; creatine (Cr) derivatives playing an important role in energetic metabolism. Moreover, high levels of lactate (L A C) are detectable in many brain pathologies owing to an increase in anaerobic glycolysis.Though the role and the importance of these brain metabolites are not yet explained,it is widely reported that the absence of one or of some of them, or changes in their relative concentrations are indicative of an anomalous metabolic condition [1–2].

The molecular interactions between nucleic acids bases (using nucleosides as a model molecule) and the methylating carcinogen dimethyl sulfate (DMS) as well as those between their methylation products and anticarcinogen cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 (cisplatin) have been studied by Raman, IR and NMR spectroscopies. The aim of this work is to contribute to the study of the molecular mechanism of the cancerogenesis and of the pharmacological action of cisplatin. Localized and delocalized (mispairing) molecular reactivities of 1-methyladenosine (1-MeAdo) and 7-methylguanosine (7-MeGuo) have been related to biological activity, while the interactions of the same molecules with cisplatin have been related to the anticarcinogenic activity of the drug.