Deuterium MRSI characterizations of glucose metabolism in orthotopic pancreatic cancer mouse models

Detecting and mapping metabolism in tissues represents a major step in detecting, characterizing, treating and understanding cancers. Recently introduced deuterium metabolic imaging techniques could offer a noninvasive route for the metabolic imaging of animals and humans, based on using H-2 magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to detect the uptake of deuterated glucose and the fate of its metabolic products. In this study, H-2(6,6 ')-glucose was administered to mice cohorts that had been orthotopically implanted with two different models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), involving PAN-02 and KPC cell lines. As the tumors grew, H-2(6,6 ')-glucose was administered as bolii into the animals' tail veins, and H-2 MRSI images were recorded at 15.2 T. 2D phase-encoded chemical shift imaging experiments could detect a signal from this deuterated glucose immediately after the bolus injection for both the PDAC models, reaching a maximum in the animals' tumors similar to 20 min following administration, and nearly total decay after similar to 40 min. The main metabolic reporter of the cancers was the H-2(3,3 ')-lactate signal, which MRSI could detect and localize on the tumors when these were 5 mm or more in diameter. Lactate production time traces varied slightly with the animal and tumor model, but in general lactate peaked at times of 60 min or longer following injection, reaching concentrations that were similar to 10-fold lower than those of the initial glucose injection. This H-2(3,3 ')-lactate signal was only visible inside the tumors. H-2-water could also be detected as deuterated glucose's metabolic product, increasing throughout the entire time course of the experiment from its approximate to 10 mM natural abundance background. This water resonance could be imaged throughout the entire abdomen of the animals, including an enhanced presence in the tumor, but also in other organs like the kidney and bladder. These results suggest that deuterium MRSI may serve as a robust, minimally invasive tool for the monitoring of metabolic activity in pancreatic tumors, capable of undergoing clinical translation and supporting decisions concerning treatment strategies. Comparisons with in vivo metabolic MRI experiments that have been carried out in other animal models are presented and their differences/similarities are discussed.

Automated summary

The study utilizes deuterium metabolic imaging techniques for pancreatic tumor metabolic imaging, showing the ability to detect lactate signal within the tumors, peaking at 60 minutes. Additionally, the water resonance signal continuously increases throughout the experiment and can be imaged in the entire abdomen, particularly in the tumor, kidney, and bladder.