003 Real-time assessment of Krebs cycle metabolism with hyperpolarised [2-13c]pyruvate

Abstract

The Krebs cycle plays a fundamental role in cardiac energy production and is often implicated in energetic imbalances characteristic of heart disease. This study presents a novel magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique that enables real-time monitoring of Krebs cycle metabolism in whole hearts. Hyperpolarized [2-13C]pyruvate was infused into isolated perfused hearts, in both healthy and ischaemic states. The conversion of pyruvate to lactate, acetyl-carnitine, citrate and glutamate was observed. Following ischaemia, the appearance of 13C-labelled citrate and glutamate was decreased relative to the healthy state, indicating that hyperpolarized [2-13C]pyruvate may be useful when studying impaired Krebs cycle metabolism in heart disease.