[2,4-13C]β-hydroxybutyrate Metabolism in Astrocytes and C6 Glioblastoma Cells

This study was undertaken to determine if the ketogenic diet could be useful for glioblastoma patients. The hypothesis tested was whether glioblastoma cells can metabolize ketone bodies. Cerebellar astrocytes and C6 glioblastoma cells were incubated in glutamine and serum free medium containing [2,4-13C]β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) with and without glucose. Furthermore, C6 cells were incubated with [1-13C]glucose in the presence and absence of BHB. Cell extracts were analyzed by mass spectrometry and media by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and HPLC. Using [2,4-13C]BHB and [1-13C]glucose it could be shown that C6 cells, in analogy to astrocytes, had efficient mitochondrial activity, evidenced by 13C labeling of glutamate, glutamine and aspartate. However, in the presence of glucose, astrocytes were able to produce and release glutamine, whereas this was not accomplished by the C6 cells, suggesting lack of anaplerosis in the latter. We hypothesize that glioblastoma cells kill neurons by not supplying the necessary glutamine, and by releasing glutamate

Glycogen metabolism as detected by in vivo and in vitro 13C-NMR spectroscopy using [1,2-13C2]glucose as substrate

The metabolism of glucose to glycogen in the liver of fasted and well-fed rats was investigated with 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using [1,2-(13)C2]glucose as the main substrate. The unique spectroscopic feature of this molecule is the 13C-13C homonuclear coupling leading to characteristic doublets for the C-1 and C-2 resonances of glucose and its breakdown products as long as the two 13C nuclei remain bonded together. The doublet resonances of [1,2-(13)C2]glucose thus provide an ideal marker to follow the fate of this exogenous substrate through the metabolic pathways. [1,2-(13)C2]Glucose was injected intraperitoneally into anesthetized rats and the in vivo 13C-NMR measurements of the intact animals revealed the transformation of the injected glucose into liver glycogen. Glycogen was extracted from the liver and high resolution 13C-NMR spectra were obtained before and after hydrolysis of glycogen. Intact [1,2-13C2]glucose molecules give rise to doublet resonances, natural abundance [13C]glucose molecules produce singlet resonances. From an analysis of the doublet-to-singlet intensities the following conclusions were derived. (i) In fasted rats virtually 100% of the glycosyl units in glycogen were 13C-NMR visible. In contrast, the 13C-NMR visibility of glycogen decreased to 30-40% in well-fed rats. (ii) In fed rats a minimum of 67 +/- 7% of the exogenous [1,2-(13)C2]glucose was incorporated into the liver glycogen via the direct pathway. No contribution of the indirect pathway could be detected. (iii) In fasted rats externally supplied glucose appeared to be consumed in different metabolic processes and less [1,2-(13)C2]glucose was found to be incorporated into glycogen (13 +/- 1%). However, the observation of [5,6-(13)C2]glucose in liver glycogen provided evidence for the operation of the so-called indirect pathway of glycogen synthesis. The activity of the indirect pathway was at least 9% but not more than 30% of the direct pathway. (vi) The pentose phosphate pathway was of little significance for glucose but became detectable upon injection of [1-(13)C]ribose

Cerebral metabolism of [1,2-13C2]glucose and [U-13C4]3-hydroxybutyrate in rat brain as detected by 13C NMR spectroscopy

The metabolism of [1,2-13C2]glucose and [U-13C4]3-hydroxybutyrate was studied in rat brain with in vivo and in vitro 13C NMR spectroscopy, taking advantage, in particular, of homonuclear 13C-13C spin coupling patterns. After infusion of [1,2-13C2]glucose or [U-13C4]3-hydroxybutyrate into rats, the uptake of the substrates in brain and their metabolism to [1-13C]bicarbonate could be detected with in vivo 13C NMR spectroscopy. At the end of the infusion experiment, methanol/HCl/HClO4 extracts of the brain tissue were further analysed by high resolution 13C NMR spectroscopy. The 13C spin coupling patterns revealed entirely different isotopomer distributions for the closely related cerebral metabolites glutamate, glutamine and 4-aminobutyric acid. A quantitative analysis of the 13C spectra demonstrated (i) the existence of two kinetically distinct pools of glutamate, (ii) a pronounced CO2 fixation via pyruvate carboxylase in the glial cells accounting for as much as 38% of the oxaloacetate synthesis in the glial tricarboxylic acid cycle, (iii) a cerebral pyruvate recycling system contributing maximally 17% of the pyruvate metabolism through the pyruvate dehydrogenase in neurons, and (iv) a predominant production of 4-aminobutyric acid from glutamate synthesized in the neurons. In addition, the labelling pattern of N-acetyl aspartate upon infusion of labelled glucose or 3-hydroxybutyrate provided insight into the synthesis of this compound in mammalian brain. While the acetyl moiety originates from the metabolic equivalent of the C-1-C-2 part of cerebral glutamate, the aspartyl moiety is not in direct contact with the intermediates of glycolysis or of the tricarboxylic acid cycles

Structural properties of perfluorinated linear alkanes : a 19F and 13C NMR study of perfluorononane

Liquid perfluorocarbons exhibit unique physical-chemical characteristics such as extraordinary stability, combined hydrophobia and lipophobia, low surface tension and a capacity to carry large quantities of gas. They have found widespread use in industry, medicine and biology even though the molecular origin of these properties is not fully understood. The objective of the present work was to elucidate the physical behavior of perfluorinated linear alkanes by investigating their intramolecular electronic environment using 13C and 19F NMR techniques in combination with theoretical calculations of molecular orbitals. Particular advantage was taken of 19F-19F through-space couplings, which led us to propose a molecular model in which delocalized p-electrons of the fluorines cover the entire surface of the molecule in two pairs of intertwined helices. Experimental data are presented for n-perfluorononane and supported by corresponding measurements with shorter and longer perfluorinated alkanes

Cerebral metabolism of [1,2-13C2]acetate as detected by in vivo and in vitro 13C NMR

The metabolism of [1,2-13C2]acetate in rat brain was studied by in vivo and in vitro 13C NMR spectroscopy, in particular by taking advantage of the homonuclear 13C-13C spin coupling patterns. Well nourished rats were infused with [1,2-13C2]acetate or [1-13C]acetate in the jugular vein, and the in situ kinetics of 13C labeling during the infusion period was followed by 13C NMR techniques. The in vivo 13C NMR spectra showed signals from (i) the C-1 carbon of [1,2-13C2] acetate or [1-13C]acetate, (ii) 13CO3H-, and (iii) the natural abundance 13C carbons of sufficiently mobile fatty acids. Methanol/HCl/perchloric acid extracts of the brains were prepared and were further analyzed by high resolution 13C NMR. The homonuclear 13C-13C spin coupling patterns after infusion of [1,2-13C2]acetate showed very different isotopomer populations in glutamate, glutamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. Analyzing the relative proportions of these isotopomers revealed (i) two different glutamate compartments in the rat brain characterized by the presence and absence, respectively, of glutamine synthase activity, (ii) two different tricarboxylic acid cycles, one preferentially metabolizing [(1,2-13C2]acetate, the other mainly using unlabeled acetyl-coenzyme A, (iii) a hitherto unknown cerebral pyruvate recycling system associated with the tricarboxylic acid cycle, metabolizing primarily unlabeled acetyl-coenzyme A, and (iv) a predominant production of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the glutamate compartment lacking glutamine synthase

Ascorbic acid, a vitamin, is observed by in vivo 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of rat liver

The first in vivo detection of a vitamin with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is reported for mammalian liver. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, was monitored noninvasively in rat liver by "whole body" 13C NMR spectroscopy at high field after infusion of [1,2-13C2]glucose into anesthetized rats. Generally, the carbon resonances of ascorbic acid overlap with those of other highly abundant cellular metabolites, thus precluding their observation in situ. This problem was resolved by taking advantage of the 13C-13C spin couplings introduced by the two covalently bound 13C nuclei in [1,2-13C2]glucose. During glucose metabolism, [5,6-13C2]ascorbic acid was synthesized, which also exhibited characteristic 13C homonuclear spin couplings. This feature enabled the spectral discrimination of ascorbic acid from overlapping singlet resonances of other metabolites. Quantitative analysis of the spin-coupling patterns provided an estimate of the turnover rate of hepatic ascorbic acid in vivo (1.9 +/- 0.4 nmol.min-1.g-1) and a novel approach toward a better understanding of optimal ascorbic acid requirements in humans. The results obtained in vivo were confirmed with high-resolution proton and 13C NMR spectroscopy of liver extracts

In situ metabolism of 1,omega medium chain dicarboxylic acids in the liver of intact rats as detected by 13C and 1H NMR

The hepatic metabolism of 1,omega-dodecanedioic acid, a physiologically relevant representative of the medium-chain dicarboxylic acid family, has been studied by a combination of in vivo and in vitro 13C and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques. Rats in different nutritional or hormonal situations were infused with [1,12-13C2]- or [1,2,11,12-13C4]dodecanedioic acid, and the kinetics of 13C label appearance as well as the final relative concentrations of metabolic products were measured noninvasively in the liver of the intact rat by 13C NMR spectroscopy. Perchloric acid and chloroform/methanol extracts of liver biopsies obtained at the end of the infusion period were further analyzed by high resolution 13C NMR and one-dimensional and two-dimensional COSY and J-resolved 1H NMR. [1-13C]- and [1,2-13C2]adipic acids were the main end products of the in vivo metabolism of [1,12-13C2]- or [1,2,11,12-13C4]dodecanedioic acids, respectively, indicating that the beta-oxidation pathway of medium-chain dicarboxylic acids proceeds in situ monodirectionally. [1-13C]Adipic acid, the main product of peroxisomal beta-oxidation, could also be detected in situ. This finding, together with the in vivo and in vitro absence of signals characteristic of intramitochondrial oxidation of [1-13C]acetyl-coenzyme A, provide a strong evidence supporting a predominant contribution of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation system to the overall oxidation of these compounds in vivo. Homonuclear two-dimensional COSY 1H NMR spectra of acid extracts from rat liver provided a convenient method of analyzing the metabolic repercussions of dicarboxylic acid accumulation, revealing a decrease in the hepatic concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate and an accumulation of adipic acid and the amino acid L-lysine

Gastrointestinal transit times in mice and humans measured with 27Al and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance

Gastric emptying and gastrointestinal (GI) transit times in mice and humans were monitored noninvasively by using 27Al and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Al(3+) bound to ion-exchange resin and perfluorononane were administered orally as selective and specific markers for the stomach and the entire GI tract, respectively. 27Al- and 19F-MR spectroscopy (MRS) was employed to follow quantitatively boli of the mixed markers in awake, fed mice over a period of 48 hr. The selectivity of the markers was confirmed by whole-body 1H-, 27Al-, and 19F-MRI of anesthetized mice. Gastric emptying in humans was also monitored with 27Al-MRS of aluminum-loaded ion exchange resin. GI transit was assessed by 19F projection imaging of pharmaceutical capsules tagged with perfluorononane. Quantitative analysis of the MR data revealed that gastric emptying in humans proceeded linearly, whereas in mice an exponential decay was observed. This difference is explained by the respective feeding patterns of humans and mice. Humans usually achieve nearly complete gastric emptying before each meal. In contrast, very short delays between successive food intakes in small animals result in successive dilution of the stomach contents. For stomach emptying in mice the exponential decay constant was 74 min, whereas the half-time of the linear gastric emptying in humans was 30 min

Feeding versus infusion : a novel approach to study the NAA metabolism in rat brain

Using in vivo (13)C-NMR spectroscopy, the energy metabolism in rat brain has commonly been studied via infusion of (13)C-labeled substrates on a minute to hour time scale. In the present study, as a novel approach, (13)C-enriched animal chow was administered over several days and compared with a 2 h infusion of [U-(13)C(6)]-glucose. Rats received chow containing either [U-(13)C(6)]-glucose or [U-(13)C]-biomass (a mixture of proteins, lipids, DNA, and carbohydrates) during 3 to 5 days. During feeding with (13)C-labeled glucose and biomass, in vivo (13)C-NMR spectroscopy was carried out daily and revealed slow but successive label incorporation into a large number of metabolites. Lipids and proteins were not significantly (13)C-enriched during a 2 h infusion of (13)C-labeled glucose, but became the most prominent resonances in the (13)C feeding experiment. Likewise, feeding with (13)C-enriched biomass led to additional (13)C-label incorporation into creatine, urea carbons and glycogen. Finally, only the acetyl moiety of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) became significantly enriched during the 2 h infusion experiment, whereas the aspartyl moiety remained at natural abundance levels. In the feeding experiments, however, label incorporation into all carbons of NAA could be observed. Moreover, isotopomer analysis of brain extracts revealed that the acetyl moiety of NAA in feeding experiments was always more strongly (13)C-enriched than its aspartyl moiety, suggesting that the turnover of the acetyl moiety is faster than that of the aspartyl moiety. The different enrichment kinetics of acetyl and aspartyl moiety could be explained by the existence of two different metabolic pathways reflecting the compartmentalised synthesis of NAA

Monoclonal antibody-coated magnetite particles as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging of tumors

A highly specific and powerful magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent has been prepared by coating magnetite (Fe3O4) particles with monoclonal antibodies directed against a tumor antigen. The preparation maintains both the immunoreactivity of the monoclonal antibody and the full relaxing capability of the magnetite particle. MRI image contrast by spin-echo methods can be easily induced in a concentration range of 1-10 nM of the antibody-coated magnetite particles