Non-Invasive Imaging of In Vivo Breast Cancer Tissue Utilizing Metabolically Incorporated Unnatural Sugars
Abstract
Cancer cells have long been known to express glycosylation patterns that are different from those found on normal cells from the same tissue. Many tumor-specific carbohydrate antigens possess the monosaccharide sialic acid, and as a consequence, many tumor cells express high levels of sialic acid compared to normal cells. Thus, any agent that targets sialic acid specifically could be used for tumor targeting. Preliminary work on this project has shown that unnatural sialic acids can be introduced onto tumor cells metabolically by feeding the cells unnatural analogs of their biosynthetic precursors. The unnatural analogs can include reactive functional groups capable of covalent reaction with exogenous probes. For example, an azide-functionalized analog of Nacetylmannosamine is converted by tumor cells to the corresponding sialic acid, and the azide can be covalently reacted on the cell surface with triarylphosphine probes in vivo. The objective of this project is to develop a novel breast cancer targeting method that exploits the selective chemical reactivity of unnatural sialic acids for delivery of imaging reagents. The immediate application is a new method for non-invasive detection and diagnosis of cancer. Longer-term applications include targeted anti-cancer drugs and vaccines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA432449
Entities
People
- Carolyn R. Bertozzi
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley