Hyperpolarized C-13 spectroscopic imaging of the TRAMP mouse at 3T - Initial experience

Abstract

The transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) mouse is a well-studied murine model of prostate cancer with histopathology and disease progression that mimic the human disease. To investigate differences in cellular bioenergetics between normal prostate epithelial cells and prostate tumor cells, in vivo MR spectroscopic (MRS) studies with non-proton nuclei, such as 13C, in the TRAMP model would be extremely useful. The recent development of a method for retaining dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in solution permits high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) 13C MRI or MRSI data to be obtained following injection of a hyperpolarized 13C agent. In this transgenic mouse study, this method was applied using a double spin-echo (DSE) pulse sequence with a small-tip-angle excitation RF pulse, hyperbolic-secant refocusing pulses, and a flyback echo-planar readout trajectory for fast (10-14 s) MRSI of 13C pyruvate (pyr) and its metabolic products at 0.135 cm3 nominal spatial resolution. Elevated 13C lactate (lac) was observed in both primary and metastatic tumors, demonstrating the feasibility of studying cellular bioenergetics in vivo with DNP hyperpolarized 13C MRSI. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.