THE APPEARANCE OF NEUTRAL LIPID SIGNALS IN THE H-1-NMR SPECTRA OF A MYELOMA CELL-LINE CORRELATES WITH THE INDUCED FORMATION OF CYTOPLASMIC LIPID DROPLETS

The appearance of high resolution neutral lipid signals in the H-1 NMR spectra of myeloma cells grown in the presence of oleate was shown to correlate with the appearance of cytoplasmic lipid droplets observable by electron microscopy. The spin-spin relaxation times of these lipid signals were similar to those measured previously for lipid resonances in other cell types. These data suggest that cytoplasmic lipid droplets could make a significant contribution to the neutral lipid signals observed in the H-1 NMR spectra of some cells.