Abstract #3432

Monitoring PKM2 Status in Glioblastoma Using Hyperpolarized 13C MRS

Myriam Marianne Chaumeil¹, Joydeep Mukherjee², Humsa Venkatesh¹, Russell O. Pieper², Sabrina M. Ronen¹

¹Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

The M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) induces a reprogramming of energetic metabolism in cancer cells, leading to tumor growth and metastasis. Because PKM2 modulation is being investigated as a therapeutic approach, we questioned whether hyperpolarized (HP) ¹³C MRS of pyruvate could serve as a method to probe the PKM2 status. This study shows that knocking down PKM2 expression in glioblastoma cells leads to a significant decrease in HP lactate formation. HP ¹³C MRS of pyruvate could thus prove useful for evaluation of new PKM2-targeted therapies.