Phospholipidosis is a

lysosomal A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal Cell (biology), cells. They are spherical Vesicle (biology and chemistry), vesicles that contain Hydrolysis, hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A ly ...

storage disorder characterized by the excess accumulation of

phospholipids Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...

in tissues. Certain cases may be triggered by medications. The traditional method to evaluate drug-induced phospholipidosis (DIPL) is visual confirmation of myeloid bodies in tissues by

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...

. Electron microscopy has limited utility to monitor DIPL in humans because of the invasive nature of acquiring patient tissue biopsy samples. A qualified biomarker of DIPL in the blood or urine is needed to provide a more routine, non-invasive, and cost effective means to monitor DIPL in the clinic.

References

Clinical pharmacology {{pharma-stub