Phospholipidosis is a

lysosomal A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle that is found in all mammalian cells, with the exception of red blood cells (erythrocytes). There are normally hundreds of lysosomes in the cytosol, where they function as the cell’s degradation cent ...

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 typi ...

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 electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

. 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