Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxation and Water Contents in Normal Tissues and Five Types of Cancer Cells.

摘要

By studying NMR water proton spin lattice relaxation times (T1) of normal mouse and rat tissues at varying water contents and by comparing the data obtained with similar data obtained from 5 strains of pure cancer cells, we reached the conclusion that differences in total water contents between normal tissues and cancer cells contributes less than 10% to the differences between the longer T1 in cancer calls than in normal tissues. In spite of the diversity of the origins of the 5 strains of cancer cells studied (all in the ascites form) their T1 and T2 as well as water contents are confined to between relatively narrow limits, suggesting the physical state of water in all 'maximally deviated' cancer cells is very similar. In these 'pure' cancer cells studied, the spun-down cell pellet contains about 5% extracellular fluid (ecf). However by studying T1 and T2 with varying amount of ecf and by extrapolation to zero ecf, we obtained T1 and T2 of pure Ehrlich cancer cells without ecf. These values are close to values from cells with 5% ecf. Other studies indicate rapid exchange of water proton between the inside and outside of Ehrlich carcinoma cells.