Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of siRNA-Based Cancer Therapy

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is routinely used as a biological tool to silence specific genes, and is under active investigation in cancer treatment strategies. Noninvasive magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides the ability to assess the functional effects of siRNA-mediated gene silencing in cultured cancer cells, and following nanoparticle-based delivery in tumors in vivo. Here we describe the use of siRNA to downregulate choline kinase, a critical enzyme in choline phospholipid metabolism of cancer cells and tumors, and the use of 1H MRS of cells and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of tumors to assess the efficacy of the downregulation.

Source: Springer protocols feed by Imaging/Radiology - October 11, 2015 Category: Radiology Source Type: news