Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the exchange and redistribution of hyperpolarized $^{13}C$ metabolites between different pools by temporally analyzing the relative fraction of dual $T_2{^*}$ components of hyperpolarized $^{13}C$ metabolites. Materials and Methods: A dual exponential decay analysis of $T_2{^*}$ is performed for [1-$^{13}C$] pyruvate and [1-$^{13}C$] lactate using nonspatially resolved dynamic $^{13}C$ MR spectroscopy from mice brains with tumors (n = 3) and without (n = 4) tumors. The values of shorter and longer $T_2{^*}$ components are explored when fitted from averaged spectrum and temporal variations of their fractions. Results: The $T_2{^*}$ values were not significantly different between the tumor and control groups, but the fraction of longer $T_2{^*}$ [1-$^{13}C$] lactate components was more than 10% in the tumor group over that of the controls (P < 0.1). The fraction of shorter $T_2{^*}$ components of [1-$^{13}C$] pyruvate showed an increasing tendency while that of the [1-$^{13}C$] lactate was decreasing over time. The slopes of the changing fraction were steeper for the tumor group than the controls, especially for lactate (P < 0.01). In both pyruvate and lactate, the fraction of the shorter $T_2{^*}$ component was always greater than the longer $T_2{^*}$ component over time. Conclusion: The exchange and redistribution of pyruvate and lactate between different pools was investigated by dual component analysis of the free induction decay signal from hyperpolarized $^{13}C$ experiments. Tumor and control groups showed differences in their fractions rather than the values of longer and shorter $T_2{^*}$ components. Fraction changing dynamics may provide an aspect for extravasation and membrane transport of pyruvate and lactate, and will be useful to determine the appropriate time window for acquisition of hyperpolarized $^{13}C$ images.
