Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in pancreatic disorders

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMRS) is a powerful technique that enables continuous monitoring of biochemical processes in tissues and organs in a non-invasive manner. A model of isolated perfused rat pancreas, suitable for NMRS studies, was developed. Acute pancreatitis was induced by injections of either 0.5 ml 5% sodium taurocholate (TC) into the bile duets, or 1.0 ml 10% TC injections into the pancreatic parenchyma. Phosphorous (31P) NMRS of experimental pancreatitis were characterized by a transient signal at -0.18±0.04 ppm which was assigned as solubilized lecithin, and can be used as an indicator of the early phases of the discase. Depletion of the high energy phosphorous compounds, phosphocreatine and ATP, were also found during acute pancreatitis, and paralleled the extension of the pathological damage. The role of NMRS in pancreatic cancer diagnosis and its treatment were assessed in three models of pancreatic neoplasms. Perfused MIA PaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells, subcutancously implanted pancreatic tumors in hamsters, and pancreatic tumors induced in-situ in rats by direct appiication of the carcinogen 7,12-dimethyl benzanthracene, were studied by phosphorous (31P), sodium (23Na) and proton (¹H) NMRS. 31P spectra of pancreatic cancer were qualitatively similar to those of intact organs. However, 31P NMRS was found to be useful for monitoring the effects of treatment. Total (infra- and extracellular) sodium concentrations, measured in the solid tumors, were similar in both the normal pancreas and the pancreatic tumors (39-40 mmol/g wet weight). Proton spectra of perchloric acid extracts revealed several differences between tumors and control pancreases. The principal findings were elevated levels of the amino acid taurine, from I.17±O.39 mmol/g wet weight in healthy pancreases, to 2.79±0.71 mmol/g wet weight in pancreatic carcinoma in rats, and lactate levels which increased from 0.92±0.2 to 6.19±1.93 mmol/g wet weight, respectively. On the other hand, creatine and glutamate were higher in the normal pancreases. These studies demonstrated that NMRS is a useful technique for studying fundamental biochemical and metabolic events of acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, and for the development of therapeutical modalitie