How do the choline compounds change when apoptosis occurs?

Apoptosis is a programmed, active, highly selective mechanism of cell death. Abnormal regulation of apoptosis can lead to disorders such as cancer. The field of apoptosis research has undergone an explosion of new knowledge over the past decade. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a non-destructive and non-invasive technique that can provide complete structural analysis of a wide range of organic molecules in complex mixtures. This technique can be used to detect the metabolite alteration of apoptosis. Choline compounds are one kind of biologically interesting metabolites that can be detected by 1H-MRS. However, how the intensity choline compounds change when apoptosis occurs is still confused.

A research article to be published on 28 June 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Prof. Wu RH from Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Shantou University Medical College used in vitro 9.4T high resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study liver cell apoptosis because of toxicity of selenium and observe the alteration of choline compounds. Previous studies indicated a relationship between the change of total choline compounds and apoptosis. This research group further investigated the change of different ingredient of choline compounds when apoptosis took place in liver cells.

Through detailed quantitative analysis of choline compounds by using high-resolution 1H-MR spectroscopy, the change of choline compounds because of liver cell apoptosis had been observed. The concentration of different ingredient choline compounds in treatment group vs control group shown as follows (mean ± SD): total choline compounds was 5.07 ± 0.97 mmol/L vs 3.80 ± 1.15 mmol/L, P = 0.047; free choline was 1.07 ± 0.23 mmol/L vs 0.65 ± 0.19 mmol/L, P = 0.004. However, there were no statistical significances if the total concentrations of synthetical choline between the two groups were compared. This result is quite conformable with the result of Blankenberg FG. The results indicate the concentrations of total choline and free choline decline while synthetical choline is invariable when apoptosis takes place in liver cells at early period. These results give an answer for the puzzle of change concerning choline compounds at early period of apoptosis. However, further studies are needed to know how choline compounds change at the advanced and final stage of apoptosis.

Reference: Cao Z, Wu LP, Li YX, Guo YB, Chen YW, Wu RH. Change of choline compounds in sodium selenite–induced apoptosis of rats as quantitative analysis by in vitro 9.4T MR spectroscopy World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(24): 3891-3896
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/3891.asp

Correspondence to: Professor Ren-Hua Wu, Dr, Department of Medical Imaging, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Dong Sha Bei Lu, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China. rhwu@stu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-754-8915674 Fax: +86-754-8915674

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

The WJG Press mainly publishes World Journal of Gastroenterology.