13C MR spectroscopy measurements of glutaminase activity in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells using hyperpolarized 13C-labeled glutamine

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is an emerging technique for increasing the sensitivity of C-13 MR spectroscopy (MRS). [5-C-13(1)]Glutamine was hyperpolarized using this technique by up to 5%, representing a 6000-fold increase in sensitivity. The conversion of hyperpolarized glutamine to glutamate by mitochondrial glutaminase was demonstrated using C-13-MRS measurements in cultured human hepatoma cells (HepG2). These results represent the first step in developing an imaging technique for detecting glutamine metabolism in vivo. Furthermore, since glutamine utilization has been correlated with cell proliferation, the study suggests a new technique for detecting changes in tumor cell proliferation.