Measuring changes in substrate utilization in the myocardium in response to fasting using hyperpolarized [1-13 C]butyrate and [1-13C]pyruvate

Jessica A M Bastiaansen, Matthew E. Merritt, Arnaud Comment

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28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cardiac dysfunction is often associated with a shift in substrate preference for ATP production. Hyperpolarized (HP) 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has the unique ability to detect real-time metabolic changes in vivo due to its high sensitivity and specificity. Here a protocol using HP [1-13C]pyruvate and [1-13C]butyrate is used to measure carbohydrate versus fatty acid metabolism in vivo. Metabolic changes in fed and fasted Sprague Dawley rats (n = 36) were studied at 9.4 T after tail vein injections. Pyruvate and butyrate competed for acetyl-CoA production, as evidenced by significant changes in [13C]bicarbonate (-48%), [1-13C]acetylcarnitine (+113%), and [5-13C]glutamate (-63%), following fasting. Butyrate uptake was unaffected by fasting, as indicated by [1-13C]butyrylcarnitine. Mitochondrial pseudoketogenesis facilitated the labeling of the ketone bodies [1-13C]acetoacetate and [1-13C]β-hydroxybutyryate, without evidence of true ketogenesis. HP [1-13C]acetoacetate was increased in fasting (250%) but decreased during pyruvate co-injection (-82%). Combining HP 13C technology and co-administration of separate imaging agents enables noninvasive and simultaneous monitoring of both fatty acid and carbohydrate oxidation. This protocol illustrates a novel method for assessing metabolic flux through different enzymatic pathways simultaneously and enables mechanistic studies of the changing myocardial energetics often associated with disease.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number25573
JournalScientific reports
Volume6
DOIs
StatePublished - May 6 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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