Abstract #0552

HGF/SF-Induced Ca+2 Intake to Breast Tumor Cells a Manganese Enhanced MRI Study

Galia Tsarfaty¹, Ilan Tsarfaty², Sari Natan², Eli Konen¹, Tammar Kushnir¹

¹Dept. of Diagnostic Imaging, MRI Unit, the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; ²Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Met tyrosine kinase receptor and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) play an important role in a variety of human cancers. HGF/SF induce diverse metabolic alteration including increase in calcium intake to the tumor cells. MEMRI enables monitoring functional cellular Ca+2 intake, via in-vivo mapping of Mn+2 ions that enter the cells due to the permeability of voltage-gated calcium channels.