We compared the enhancement effect between a newly synthesized tissue-specific
contrast agent, [
Gd-DOTA-FPβG], and a commercially available agent, [
Gd(DOTA)](-), in a murine model of liver
tumor using a clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The
colon cancer cell lines with and without β-
glucuronidase (βG) expression were implanted into the liver of mice. Self-synthesized
gadolinium-based magnetic resonance
contrast agent, [
Gd(DOTA-FPβG)], was administered to measure enhancement on magnetic resonance images using a commercially available agent, [
Gd(DOTA)](-), as control in a clinical 3.0 tesla (T) magnetic resonance scanner. In vivo fluorescence imaging and histopathology of the liver were also performed to compare and correlate with the magnetic resonance studies. The in vivo fluorescence imaging failed to depict a sufficiently intense signal for liver or liver
tumor of mice without exposure of the liver following an incision on the abdominal wall. The tissue-specific magnetic resonance agent, [
Gd(DOTA-FPβG)], caused significantly stronger enhancement in
tumors expressing βG (CT26/mβG-eB7) than in
tumors not expressing βG (CT26) (p < 0.05). In the magnetic resonance imaging studies using control agent [
Gd(DOTA)](-), the
tumors with and without βG expression depicted no significant difference in enhancement on the T1-weighted images. The [
Gd(DOTA-FPβG)] also provided significantly more contrast uptake in the CT26/mβG-eB7
tumor than in the normal liver parenchyma, whereas the [
Gd(DOTA)](-) did not. This study confirms that better contrast enhancement can be readily detected in vivo by the use of a tissue-specific magnetic resonance
contrast agent to target
tumor cells with specific
biomarkers in a clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner.