1H NMR ganglioside ceramide resonance region on the differential diagnosis of low and high malignancy of brain gliomas

Proton MRS imaging in pediatric brain tumors

Magnetic resonance (MR) techniques offer a noninvasive, non-irradiating yet sensitive approach to diagnosing and monitoring pediatric brain tumors. Proton MR spectroscopy (MRS), as an adjunct to MRI, is being more widely applied to monitor the metabolic aspects of brain cancer. In vivo MRS biomarkers represent a promising advance and may influence treatment choice at both initial diagnosis and follow-up, given the inherent difficulties of sequential biopsies to monitor therapeutic response. When combined with anatomical or other types of imaging, MRS provides unique information regarding biochemistry in inoperable brain tumors and can complement neuropathological data, guide biopsies and enhance insight into therapeutic options. The combination of noninvasively acquired prognostic information and the high-resolution anatomical imaging provided by conventional MRI is expected to surpass molecular analysis and DNA microarray gene profiling, both of which, although promising, depend on invasive biopsy. This review focuses on recent data in the field of MRS in children with brain tumors.

Use of in vivo two-dimensional MR spectroscopy to compare the biochemistry of the human brain to that of glioblastoma

PURPOSE

To develop an in vivo two-dimensional localized correlation spectroscopy technique with which to monitor the biochemistry of the human brain and the pathologic characteristics of diseases in a clinically applicable time, including ascertainment of appropriate postprocessing parameters with which to allow diagnostic and prognostic molecules to be measured, and to investigate how much of the chemical information, known to be available from malignant cultured cells, could be recorded in vivo from human brain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was approved by the institutional review board and was compliant with HIPAA. With use of a 3.0-T clinical magnetic resonance (MR) unit and a 32-channel head coil, localized correlation spectroscopy was performed in six healthy control subjects and six patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with an acquisition time of 11 minutes. Two-dimensional spectra were processed and analyzed and peak volume ratios were tabulated. The data used were proved to be normally distributed by passing the Shapiro-Wilk normality test. The first row of the spectra was extracted to examine diagnostic features. The pathologic characteristics and grade of each GBM were determined after biopsy or surgery. Statistically significant differences were assessed by using a t test.

RESULTS

The localized correlation spectroscopy method assigned biochemical species from the healthy human brain. The correlation spectra of GBM were of sufficiently high quality that many of the cross peaks, recorded previously from malignant cell models in vitro, were observed, demonstrating a statistically significant difference (P < .05) between the cross peak volumes measured for healthy subjects and those with GBM (which include lipid, alanine, N-acetylaspartate, γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamine and glutamate, glutathione, aspartate, lysine, threonine, total choline, glycerophosphorylcholine, myo-inositol, imidazole, uridine diphosphate glucose, isocitrate, lactate, and fucose). The first row of the spectra was found to contain diagnostic features.

CONCLUSION

Localized correlation spectroscopy of the human brain at 3.0 T with use of a 32-channel head coil was performed in 11 minutes and provided information about neurotransmitters, metabolites, lipids, and macromolecules. The method was able to help differentiate healthy brain from the biochemical signature of GBM in vivo. This method may, in the future, reduce the need for biopsy and is now applicable for the study of selected neurologic diseases.

1H, 13C and 31P MAS NMR studies of lyophilized brain tumors

(1)H, (13)C and (31)P magic angle spinning magnetic resonance spectra (MAS NMR) of lyophilized brain tissue specimens were recorded. Among the 35 cases of brain tumors there were 24 glioblastomas, seven meningiomas and a few other types. (1)H NMR measurements were performed with a MAS speed of 33 kHz. The intense CH(3), CH(2) and CH peaks in the (1)H spectrum result from fatty acid residues of phospholipids, which are "mobile enough" besides the anhydrous environment. (13)C CPMAS spectra revealed the resonances of creatine and guanidine carbons; the high intensity signals arise from carbonyl groups and methylene carbons of lipids. In particular we found a fraction of mobile lipids, characterized by narrow resonances and long T(1rho)(H) Overlapped resonances of phospholipids head groups contributed to the peak at 4-7 ppm in the (31)P MAS NMR spectra. Our results indicate that (1)H and (13)C MAS NMR are able to characterize tumor types: differentiate glioblastomas from meningiomas and shed light on tumor biochemical characteristics. However, water soluble metabolites are not observed and macromolecules yield broad overlapped resonances. Generally, lyophilization significantly decreases discriminative potential of NMR analysis.

Proton NMR spectroscopy shows lipids accumulate in skeletal muscle in response to burn trauma‐induced apoptosis

Burn trauma triggers hypermetabolism and muscle wasting via increased cellular protein degradation and apoptosis. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy can detect mobile lipids in vivo. To examine the local effects of burn in skeletal muscle, we performed in vivo 1H NMR on mice 3 days after burn trauma; and ex vivo, high-resolution, magic angle spinning (1)H NMR on intact excised mouse muscle samples before and 1 and 3 days after burn. These samples were then analyzed for apoptotic nuclei using a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay. To confirm our NMR and cell biology results, we used transcriptome analysis to demonstrate that burn trauma alters the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that burn injury results in a localized intramyocellular lipid accumulation, which in turn is accompanied by burn-induced apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction, as seen by the up-regulation of apoptotic genes and down-regulation of genes that encode lipid oxidation and the peroxisomal proliferator activator receptor gamma coactivator PGC-1beta. Moreover, the increased levels of bisallylic methylene fatty acyl protons (2.8 ppm) and vinyl protons (5.4 ppm), in conjunction with the TUNEL assay results, further suggest that burn trauma results in apoptosis. Together, our results provide new insight into the local physiological changes that occur in skeletal muscle after severe burn trauma.

Investigation of metabolic changes in irradiated rat brain tissue by means of 1H NMR in vitro relaxation study

The effect of irradiation on concentrations and relaxation behaviour of brain metabolites was studied by means of high-resolution 1H NMR in vitro. The studies were performed on rat brains irradiated with the doses of 20 Gy applied in fractions of 2 Gy. Standard procedures were used to obtain HClO4 extracts of rat brains. The 1H NMR studies of the extracts solutions in D2O were performed using a Varian Inova-300 NMR spectrometer. The integral intensities of the metabolite signals were found to change during the irradiation cycle and after it. These changes are accompanied by the variations in the T1 relaxation times. N-acetylaspartate, glycerophosphocholine, phosphocholine, choline, creatine and phosphocreatine, myoinositol and taurine were analysed as potential markers of irradiation injury.

Sphingolipid metabolism, apoptosis and resistance to cytotoxic agents: can we interfere?

Sphingolipid metabolism assumes a key role in the complex mechanisms regulating cellular stress responses to environmental stressors, including cytotoxic agents. The sphingolipid metabolic pathways, therefore, are promising sources of anticancer therapeutic strategies. Several sphingolipid metabolites have recently been shown to have bioactivity, and their individual contributions to the regulatory pathways that govern cell growth are currently being established in mammalian cells and yeast. The Sphingomyelin (SM) cycle represents a novel antiproliferative, sphingolipid-mediated signal transduction pathway that regulates cell cycle arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis in response to growth factor deprivation, cytokines, ionizing radiation, heat, and chemotherapy. Ceramide, the putative second messenger of the SM cycle, has been proposed as a molecular sensor of injury and assumes a fundamental role in the cellular stress response. This review will discuss sphingolipid metabolism within the context of the cellular stress response, the contribution of sphingolipids to chemotherapy-mediated apoptosis, and suggest novel sphingolipid-based strategies in the treatment of malignant disease.