title: Magnetic resonance molecular imaging of the HER-2/neu receptor.
abstract: The HER-2/neu receptor is a member of the epidermal growth factor family and is amplified in multiple cancers. It is under intense investigation both as a prognostic marker and for therapy, using monoclonal antibodies targeted against the receptor. We have developed a novel two-component gadolinium-based MR contrast agent to image the HER-2/neu receptor. Positive T1 contrast in MR images was generated by the specific binding of avidin-gadolinium complexes to tumor cells prelabeled with a biotinylated anti-HER-2/neu antibody. Significant intensity enhancement was observed in HER-2/neu-expressing cell lines and in vivo in a breast cancer model. Potential applications of this approach may include determination of the HER-2/neu status for prognosis and for selecting tumors for monoclonal antibody therapy.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. dmitri@mri.jhu.edu
authors.forename: Dmitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Artemov
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Rajani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ravi
authors.forename: Zaver M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Bhujwalla
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001360:Avidin / Q000378:metabolism; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D051381:Rats; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D001360:Avidin; D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases