Estimation of tissue phospholipids by natural abundance 13C-NMR

The total phospholipid content of excised rat muscle, liver, brain and kidney and of human muscle biopsies was estimated by natural abundance 13C-NMR after complete solubilization of the tissue membranes with excess halothane. An external dioxane capillary, calibrated against pure palmitic acid and phospholipid vesicles with known phosphate concentration, was inserted into the tissues, and the repeating methylene carbon peak area in the spectra of the halothane-treated tissues was integrated versus the dioxane reference peak area. The amount of tissue used for NMR analysis was quantitated by dry weight determination after 13C spectroscopy was completed. The phospholipid content estimated by the indirect NMR method was in good agreement with that measured by direct phosphate analysis and with literature data. For human muscle biopsies, the NMR method can also estimate the fraction of the total phospholipids which are mobile without treating the muscles with halothane. In this respect human muscles could be separated into three different groups: normal and nonspecific muscle diseases, myotonia and myopathy, Duchenne dystrophy; with increasing fraction of the mobile phospholipids in this order.