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Diagnostic imaging

MRI of transmembrane water efflux in gliomas

Nature Biomedical Engineering (2022)Cite this article

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Water exchange through the transmembrane channel aquaporin-4 can be measured by conventional dynamic-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and is a sensitive biomarker of the proliferation of gliomas and their resistance to chemotherapy.

The predominant transmembrane water transporter in the brain is the channel protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4)1. In gliomas, the increased expression of AQP4 is a key driver of the transformation of glial cells from a stem-like quiescent phenotype to a proliferative and infiltrative phenotype2,3. The overexpression of AQP4 at the leading edge of aggressive glioma cell populations is a probable mechanism by which invasive glial cells can displace water and permeabilize the blood–brain barrier4,5. Therefore, mapping water transport across cell membranes could reveal the spatial distribution of proliferative cells in gliomas. It would also allow for the study of their intratumoural heterogeneity.

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Fig. 1: Transmembrane water-efflux rates as a biomarker of proliferative glioma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Pharmacology Program & Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Thomas Ruan & Kayvan R. Keshari

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Thomas Ruan & Kayvan R. Keshari

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  1. Thomas Ruan
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  2. Kayvan R. Keshari
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Correspondence to Kayvan R. Keshari.

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Competing interests

K.R.K. is co-founder of Atish Technologies and serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of NVision Imaging Technologies and Imaginostics. He holds patents related to imaging and leveraging cellular metabolism. T.R. declares no competing interests.

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Ruan, T., Keshari, K.R. MRI of transmembrane water efflux in gliomas. Nat. Biomed. Eng (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-022-00979-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-022-00979-y

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