Studies in lipid composition of various subcellular fractions obtained from human normal and malignant 'cervix uteri'

Lipids of mitochondria and microsomes prepared from human normal and malignant cervical tissues were fractionated by the silicic acid column chromatography into two broad classes of neutral and phospholipids which were again subjected to thin layer chromatography to get hydrocarbon squalene, cholesterol ester, triglyceride, diglyceride, monoglyceride and cholesterol from neutral lipids and phosphatidyl glycerol, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, lecithin, sphingomyelin, phosphatidyl inositol and lysolecithin from phospholipids. Mitochondria and microsomes from human malignant tissues contain greater amounts of lipid as compared to those from normal tissues. The total phospholipids of mitochondra from malignant tissues is higher compared to normal but the position is reversed in the case of microsomal phospholipids. The concentration of neutral lipids is also lower in mitochondria and microsomes under malignancy. Among the neutral lipid fractions, triglyceride is the major fraction, which does not differ significantly in malignant mitochondria and microsomes though the total cholesterol increases under malignancy. Among the phospholipids phosphatidyl ethanolamine and sphingomyelin are present in higher amount and lecithin less in malignant mitochondria.