Compartmentation of MCF-7 tumour cell metabolites characterised by hyperpolarised 13C diffusion-weighted spectroscopy

Quantifying and understanding tumour metabolism is a central issue in diagnosis and treatment response analysis of tumours. Using kinetic modelling, the uptake and metabolism of hyperpolarised 13C-labelled agents, such as [1-13C]pyruvate, in tumours can be analysed. The signal of each metabolite emanates from both extra- and intracellular compartments, which currently cannot be separated in experiments. The diffusion coefficient between different cellular compartments can vary up to 10-fold, therefore diffusion-weighted spectroscopy is well suited to differentiate them. Many efforts have been made to overcome the low SNR of 13C metabolites in-vivo using indirect detection techniques like ACED-STEAM (3). In this study, hyperpolarisation is used to overcome the low SNR limitations. For the first time, we show using real-time direct detection, that diffusion coefficients of [1-13C]pyruvate and its metabolites in tumour cell spheroids can be determined.     «

Quantifying and understanding tumour metabolism is a central issue in diagnosis and treatment response analysis of tumours. Using kinetic modelling, the uptake and metabolism of hyperpolarised 13C-labelled agents, such as [1-13C]pyruvate, in tumours can be analysed. The signal of each metabolite emanates from both extra- and intracellular compartments, which currently cannot be separated in experiments. The diffusion coefficient between different cellular compartments can vary up to 10-fold, the...     »