title: Multi-modality imaging to determine the cellular heterogeneity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma components.
abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an endemic public health problem in South and Southeast Asian countries. The disease components at the molecular level are unclear and need exploration for the development of future individualized molecular medicine. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of target-specific agents to detect different components of NPC. The binding capability of human NPC cell lines was determined by incubation with either agents that specifically target the metabolic status, host cytokines, and stroma. Mice bearing human NPC xenografts were injected with the same test agents plus a clinical molecular imaging agent (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose) and computer tomography (CT) contrast agent. In vitro cell studies have demonstrated that target-specific agents bind to NPC cells with significantly higher signal intensities. Those agents not only bound to the cell membrane but also penetrated into the cytosol and cell nuclei. In vivo imaging demonstrated that the human NPC xenografts revealed high glucose uptake and a profound vasculature in the tumor. All agents were bound to the tumor regions with a high tumor-to-muscle ratio. Finally, all imaging data were validated by histopathological results. Multiple, target-specific agents determine the dynamic and heterogeneous components of NPC at the molecular level.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yanling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Mingjian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Zhenyin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.forename: Chaoxia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Shaofan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Guangtao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Chuanxing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fujun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003287:Contrast Media; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D064593:Heterografts; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18