Determining the Metabolic Landscape of Pancreatic Cancer with Pharmacological Blockade of the Glutamine Transporter, ASCT2

Motivation: The motivation of this study is to determine whether a metabolic inhibitor could be efficacious in treating pancreatic cancer. Goal(s): The goal of this study is to employ magnetic resonance to image and study the biochemical pathways that a pancreatic cancer system utilizes to fuel and sustain its growth. Approach: We have demonstrated the applications of HP MRS and NMR metabolomics to study the inhibition of glutamine pathway in pancreatic cancer. Results: Employing metabolic imaging and metabolomics, we have demonstrated that glutamine inhibition changed the metabolic landscape of the cancer and is effective in arresting the tumor progression. Impact: These results have demonstrated the potential of targeting the glutamine pathway for cancer therapy. Also how non-invasive techniques such as HP MRS can determine therapeutic efficacy in vivo leading to changes in therapy regiments.