Fig. 6: Hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine metabolism to lactate is a non-invasive imaging biomarker of TERT status in both genetically-engineered and patient-derived LGOG models in vivo.
From: Non-invasive assessment of telomere maintenance mechanisms in brain tumors

a 2D EPSI of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine metabolism to predominantly lactate in a rat bearing an orthotopic NHATERT tumor. Tumor voxel is indicated in red and the contralateral normal brain voxel in blue. Quantification of the hyperpolarized lactate/alanine ratio (b) and the SNR of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine (c) in the tumor (red) and contralateral normal brain (blue) voxels in orthotopic NHATERT tumors. d Representative heatmaps of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine metabolism in a rat bearing an orthotopic NHATERT tumor xenograft. Left panel: T2-weighted MRI with the tumor region contoured in white. Middle panel: Heatmap of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine distribution; Right panel: a heatmap of the hyperpolarized lactate/alanine ratio. e 2D EPSI of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine metabolism to predominantly lactate in a rat bearing an orthotopic SF10417 tumor xenograft. Tumor voxel is indicated in red and the contralateral normal brain voxel in blue. Hyperpolarized lactate/alanine ratio (f) and the SNR of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine (g) in the tumor (red) voxel vs. contralateral normal brain (blue) voxel in orthotopic SF10417 tumors. h Representative heatmaps of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine metabolism in a rat bearing an orthotopic SF10417 tumor xenograft. Left panel: T2-weighted MRI with the tumor region contoured in white. Middle panel: Heatmap of hyperpolarized [1-13C]-alanine distribution; Right panel: a heatmap of the ratio of hyperpolarized lactate/alanine. All experiments were performed on three biological replicates (n = 3). Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Statistical significance was assessed using an unpaired Student’s t test assuming unequal variance with p < 0.05 considered significant. *** represents statistical significance with p < 0.005. Source data with exact p values are provided as a source data file.