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Biomedical subjects

Craig R Malloy

Publications and source records attributed to Craig R Malloy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Storage and oxidation of long-chain fatty acids in the C57/BL6 mouse heart as measured by NMR spectroscopy.

Triglyceride turnover in the isolated C57/BL6 mouse heart was measured by dynamic 13C edit-(1)H observe NMR and the rate of fatty acid oxidation was determined by 13C NMR isotopomer analysis. In the presence of a physiological mixture of substrates, energy was produced in the citric acid cycle by oxidation of long-chain fatty acids (18%), ketones (34%), lactate (24%), pyruvate (7%), and other sources (17%). Exogenous fatty acids appeared in the triglyceride pool at 0.24 micromol/g dry wt/min, similar to the rate of oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, 0.16 micromol/g dry wt/min. Isoproterenol decreased the rate of de novo triglyceride synthesis and increased the rate of fatty acid oxidation.

Animals↗

Diminished hepatic gluconeogenesis via defects in tricarboxylic acid cycle flux in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha)-deficient mice.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) coactivator 1alpha (PGC-1alpha) is a highly inducible transcriptional coactivator implicated in the coordinate regulation of genes encoding enzymes involved in hepatic fatty acid oxidation, oxidative phosphorylation, and gluconeogenesis. The present study sought to assess the effects of chronic PGC-1alpha deficiency on metabolic flux through the hepatic gluconeogenic, fatty acid oxidation, and tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways. To this end, hepatic metabolism was assessed in wild-type (WT) and PGC-1alpha(-/-) mice using isotopomer-based NMR with complementary gene expression analyses. Hepatic glucose production was diminished in PGC-1alpha(-/-) livers coincident with reduced gluconeogenic flux from phosphoenolpyruvate. Surprisingly, the expression of PGC-1alpha target genes involved in gluconeogenesis was unaltered in PGC-1alpha(-/-) compared with WT mice under fed and fasted conditions. Flux through tricarboxylic acid cycle and mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation pathways was also diminished in PGC-1alpha(-/-) livers. The expression of multiple genes encoding tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation enzymes was significantly depressed in PGC-1alpha(-/-) mice and was activated by PGC-1alpha overexpression in the livers of WT mice. Collectively, these findings suggest that chronic whole-animal PGC-1alpha deficiency results in defects in hepatic glucose production that are secondary to diminished fatty acid beta-oxidation and tricarboxylic acid cycle flux rather than abnormalities in gluconeogenic enzyme gene expression per se.

Animals↗

Effects of insulin and cytosolic redox state on glucose production pathways in the isolated perfused mouse liver measured by integrated 2H and 13C NMR.

A great deal is known about hepatic glucose production and its response to a variety of factors such as redox state, substrate supply and hormonal control, but the effects of these parameters on the flux through biochemical pathways which integrate to control glucose production are less clear. A combination of 13C and [2H]water tracers and NMR isotopomer analysis were used to investigate metabolic fluxes in response to altered cytosolic redox state and insulin. In livers isolated from fed mice and perfused with a mixture of substrates including lactate/pyruvate (10:1, w/w), hepatic glucose production had substantial contributions from glycogen, PEP (phosphoenolpyruvate) and glycerol. Inversion of the lactate/pyruvate ratio (1:10, w/w) resulted in a surprising decrease in the contribution from glycogen and an increase in that from PEP to glucose production. A change in the lactate/pyruvate ratio from 10:1 to 1:10 also stimulated flux through the tricarboxylic acid cycle (2-fold), while leaving oxygen consumption and overall glucose output unchanged. When lactate and pyruvate were eliminated from the perfusion medium, both gluconeogenesis and tricarboxylic-acid-cycle flux were dramatically lower. Insulin lowered glucose production by inhibiting glycogenolysis at both low and high doses, but only at high levels of insulin did gluconeogenesis or tricarboxylic-acid-cycle flux tend towards lower values (P<0.1). Our data demonstrate that, in the isolated mouse liver, substrate availability and cellular redox state have a dramatic impact on liver metabolism in both the tricarboxylic acid cycle and gluconeogenesis. The tight correlation of these two pathways under multiple conditions suggest that interventions which increase or decrease hepatic tricarboxylic-acid-cycle flux will have a concomitant effect on gluconeogenesis and vice versa.

Animals↗

The greater contribution of gluconeogenesis to glucose production in obesity is related to increased whole-body protein catabolism.

Obesity is associated with an increase in the fractional contribution of gluconeogenesis (GNG) to glucose production. We tested if this was related to the altered protein metabolism in obesity. GNG(PEP) (via phosphoenol pyruvate [PEP]) was measured after a 17-h fast using the deuterated water method and 2H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of plasma glucose. Whole-body 13C-leucine and 3H-glucose kinetics were measured in the postabsorptive state and during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic-isoaminoacidemic clamp in 19 (10 men and 9 women) lean and 16 (7 men and 9 women) obese nondiabetic subjects. Endogenous glucose production was not different between groups. Postabsorptive %GNG(PEP) and GNG(PEP) flux were higher in obese subjects, and glycogenolysis contributed less to glucose production than in lean subjects. GNG(PEP) flux correlated with all indexes of adiposity and with postabsorptive leucine rate of appearance (Ra) (protein catabolism). GNG(PEP) was negatively related to the clamp glucose rate of disposal (Rd) and to the protein anabolic response to hyperinsulinemia. In conclusion, the increased contribution of GNG to glucose production in obesity is linked to increased postabsorptive protein catabolism and insulin resistance of both glucose and protein metabolism. Due to increased protein turnover rates, greater supply of gluconeogenic amino acids to the liver may trigger their preferential use over glycogen for glucose production.

Adult↗

MRI thermometry based on PARACEST agents.

A novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry technique is demonstrated in vitro based upon the use of a PARACEST (PARAmagnetic Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer) agent. This new method takes advantage of the high concentration of bulk water (the readout signal for imaging) and the hyperfine frequency shift properties of PARACEST agents. For two prototypes, Dy(1)3+ and Eu(2)-, the chemical shifts (delta, in ppm) of the Ln3+-bound water molecules are linearly dependent on temperature (T, in degrees C) over the range of 20-50 degrees C (delta = 6.9 x T - 944.7 and delta = -0.4 x T + 64.6, respectively). This offers the exciting possibility of improving the temperature dependencies approximately 690- and approximately 40-fold over the most widely used water PRF thermometry (Proton Resonance Frequency: -0.01 ppm/ degrees C).

Animals↗

Effect of murine strain on metabolic pathways of glucose production after brief or prolonged fasting.

Background strain is known to influence the way a genetic manipulation affects mouse phenotypes. Despite data that demonstrate variations in the primary phenotype of basic inbred strains of mice, there is limited data available about specific metabolic fluxes in vivo that may be responsible for the differences in strain phenotypes. In this study, a simple stable isotope tracer/NMR spectroscopic protocol has been used to compare metabolic fluxes in ICR, FVB/N (FVB), C57BL/6J (B6), and 129S1/SvImJ (129) mouse strains. After a short-term fast in these mice, there were no detectable differences in the pathway fluxes that contribute to glucose synthesis. However, after a 24-h fast, B6 mice retain some residual glycogenolysis compared with other strains. FVB mice also had a 30% higher in vivo phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase flux and total glucose production from the level of the TCA cycle compared with B6 and 129 strains, while total body glucose production in the 129 strain was approximately 30% lower than in either FVB or B6 mice. These data indicate that there are inherent differences in several pathways involving glucose metabolism of inbred strains of mice that may contribute to a phenotype after genetic manipulation in these animals. The techniques used here are amenable to use as a secondary or tertiary tool for studying mouse models with disruptions of intermediary metabolism.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Inhibition of cardiac lipoprotein utilization by transgenic overexpression of Angptl4 in the heart.

To investigate the role of Angptl4, an inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase that is induced by >3-fold in the heart after rosiglitazone treatment, we generated transgenic mice that overexpress Angptl4 in the heart (MHC-Angptl4). We show that MHC-Angptl4 mice exhibit cardiac-restricted expression of the transgene and inhibition of cardiac lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. However, LPL activities in other tissues or that released into plasma by heparin are not affected. In addition, MHC-Angptl4 mice also exhibit hypertriglyceridemia after 6 h of fasting. We use echocardiography to show that MHC-Angptl4 mice develop left-ventricular dysfunction. Comparison of the metabolic profiles of isolated working hearts demonstrates that cardiac impairment in MHC-Angptl4 mice is positively associated with decreased triglyceride (TG) utilization. When bred to transgenic mice that overexpress acyl-CoA synthetase in the heart, a strain that exhibits elevated cardiac TG accumulation, cardiac TG content in double transgenic mice is reversed to that of wild-type mice. Taken together, our data support the hypothesis that induction of Angptl4 in the heart inhibits lipoprotein-derived fatty acid delivery. This mouse model will be useful to elucidate the role of reduced fatty acid supply in the pathogenesis of heart failure and related disorders.

Angiopoietin-Like Protein 4↗

Comparison of [3,4-13C2]glucose to [6,6-2H2]glucose as a tracer for glucose turnover by nuclear magnetic resonance.

A recently introduced tracer, [3,4-(13)C(2)]glucose, was compared to the widely used tracer, [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose, for measurement of whole-body glucose turnover. The rate of glucose production (GP) was measured in rats after primed infusions of [3,4-(13)C(2)]glucose, [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose, or both tracers simultaneously followed by a constant infusion of tracer(s) over 90 min. Blood glucose was purified and converted into monoacetone glucose for analysis by (13)C NMR (for [3,4-(13)C(2)]glucose) or (1)H and (2)H NMR (for [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose). The values of GP measured during infusion of each single tracer were not significantly different. In rats infused with both tracers simultaneously, GP was identical as reported by each tracer, 42 +/- 4 micromol/kg/min. Since (2)H and (13)C enrichment in glucose is typically much less than 2% for in vivo studies, [3,4-(13)C(2)]glucose does not interfere with measurements of (13)C or (2)H enrichment patterns and therefore is valuable when multiple metabolic pathways are being evaluated simultaneously.

Animals↗

Differing mechanisms of hepatic glucose overproduction in triiodothyronine-treated rats vs. Zucker diabetic fatty rats by NMR analysis of plasma glucose.

The metabolic mechanism of hepatic glucose overproduction was investigated in 3,3'-5-triiodo-l-thyronine (T3)-treated rats and Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats (fa/fa) after a 24-h fast. 2H2O and [U-13C3]propionate were administered intraperitoneally, and [3,4-13C2]glucose was administered as a primed infusion for 90 min under ketamine-xylazine anesthesia. 13C NMR analysis of monoacetone glucose derived from plasma glucose indicated that hepatic glucose production was twofold higher in both T3-treated rats and ZDF rats compared with controls, yet the sources of glucose overproduction differed significantly in the two models by 2H NMR analysis. In T3-treated rats, the hepatic glycogen content and hence the contribution of glycogenolysis to glucose production was essentially zero; in this case, excess glucose production was due to a dramatic increase in gluconeogenesis from TCA cycle intermediates. 13C NMR analysis also revealed increased phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase flux (4x), increased pyruvate cycling flux (4x), and increased TCA flux (5x) in T3-treated animals. ZDF rats had substantial glycogen stores after a 24-h fast, and consequently nearly 50% of plasma glucose originated from glycogenolysis; other fluxes related to the TCA cycle were not different from controls. The differing mechanisms of excess glucose production in these models were easily distinguished by integrated 2H and 13C NMR analysis of plasma glucose.

Animals↗

Impaired tricarboxylic acid cycle activity in mouse livers lacking cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase.

Liver-specific phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) null mice, when fasted, maintain normal whole body glucose kinetics but develop dramatic hepatic steatosis. To identify the abnormalities of hepatic energy generation that lead to steatosis during fasting, we studied metabolic fluxes in livers lacking hepatic cytosolic PEPCK by NMR using 2H and 13C tracers. After a 4-h fast, glucose production from glycogenolysis and conversion of glycerol to glucose remains normal, whereas gluconeogenesis from tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates was nearly absent. Upon an extended 24-h fast, livers that lack PEPCK exhibit both 2-fold lower glucose production and oxygen consumption, compared with the controls, with all glucose production being derived only from glycerol. The mitochondrial reduction-oxidation (red-ox) state, as indicated by the NADH/NAD+ ratio, is 5-fold higher, and hepatic TCA cycle intermediate concentrations are dramatically increased in the PEPCK null livers. Consistent with this, flux through the TCA cycle and pyruvate cycling pathways is 10- and 40-fold lower, respectively. Disruption of hepatic cataplerosis due to loss of PEPCK leads to the accumulation of TCA cycle intermediates and a nearly complete blockage of gluconeogenesis from amino acids and lactate (an energy demanding process) but intact gluconeogenesis from glycerol (which contributes to net NADH production). Inhibition of the TCA cycle and fatty acid oxidation due to increased TCA cycle intermediate concentrations and reduced mitochondrial red-ox state lead to the development of steatosis.

Animals↗

Glucose production, gluconeogenesis, and hepatic tricarboxylic acid cycle fluxes measured by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of a single glucose derivative.

A triple-tracer method was developed to provide absolute fluxes contributing to endogenous glucose production and hepatic tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle fluxes in 24-h-fasted rats by (2)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of a single glucose derivative. A primed, intravenous [3,4-(13)C(2)]glucose infusion was used to measure endogenous glucose production; intraperitoneal (2)H(2)O (to enrich total body water) was used to quantify sources of glucose (TCA cycle, glycerol, and glycogen), and intraperitoneal [U-(13)C(3)] propionate was used to quantify hepatic anaplerosis, pyruvate cycling, and TCA cycle flux. Plasma glucose was converted to monoacetone glucose (MAG), and a single (2)H and (13)C NMR spectrum of MAG provided the following metabolic data (all in units of micromol/kg/min; n = 6): endogenous glucose production (40.4+/-2.9), gluconeogenesis from glycerol (11.5+/-3.5), gluconeogenesis from the TCA cycle (67.3+/-5.6), glycogenolysis (1.0+/-0.8), pyruvate cycling (154.4+/-43.4), PEPCK flux (221.7+/-47.6), and TCA cycle flux (49.1+/-16.8). In a separate group of rats, glucose production was not different in the absence of (2)H(2)O and [U-(13)C]propionate, demonstrating that these tracers do not alter the measurement of glucose turnover.

Acetonitriles↗

A (13)C isotopomer kinetic analysis of cardiac metabolism: influence of altered cytosolic redox and [Ca(2+)](o).

Rat hearts were perfused with mixtures of [3-(13)C]pyruvate and [3-(13)C]lactate (to alter cytosolic redox) at low (0.5 mM) or high (2.5 mM) Ca(2+) concentrations to alter contractility. Hearts were frozen at various times after exposure to these substrates, were extracted, and were then analyzed by (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The time-dependent multiplets observed in the (13)C NMR resonances of glutamate in all hearts and in malate and aspartate in hearts perfused with high-pyruvate/low-lactate concentrations were analyzed using a kinetic model of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The analysis showed that TCA cycle flux (V(TCA)) and exchange flux (V(X)) that involved cycle intermediates were both sensitive to cell redox and altered Ca(2+) concentration, and the ratio of these fluxes (V(X)/V(TCA)) varied >10-fold.

Animals↗

Glucose production pathways by 2H and 13C NMR in patients with HIV-associated lipoatrophy.

Patients with HIV taking protease inhibitors were selected for the presence (five subjects) or absence (five subjects) of lipoatrophy. Following an overnight fast, subjects were given oral (2)H(2)O in divided doses (5 mL/kg body water), [U-(13)C(3)] propionate (10 mg/kg), and acetaminophen (1000 mg). Glucose (from plasma) or acetaminophen glucuronide (from urine) were converted to monoacetone glucose for (2)H NMR and (13)C NMR analysis. The fraction of plasma glucose derived from gluconeogenesis was not significantly different between groups. However, flux from glycerol into gluconeogenesis relative to glucose production was increased from 0.20 +/- 0.13 among subjects without lipoatrophy to 0.42 +/- 0.12 (P < 0.05) among subjects with lipoatrophy, and the TCA cycle contribution was reduced. Lipoatrophy was associated with an abnormal profile of glucose production as assessed by (13)C and (2)H NMR of plasma and urine.

Acetaminophen↗

Compartmentation of glycolysis and glycogenolysis in the perfused rat heart.

Developing methods that can detect compartmentation of metabolic pathways in intact tissues may be important for understanding energy demand and supply. In this study, we investigated compartmentation of glycolysis and glycogenolysis in the isolated perfused rat heart using (13)C NMR isotopomer analysis. Rat hearts previously depleted of myocardial glycogen were perfused with 5.5 mm [U-(13)C]glucose plus 50 mU/mL insulin until newly synthesized glycogen recovered to new steady-state levels ( approximately 60% of pre-depleted values). After a short wash-out period, the perfusate glucose was then switched to [1-(13)C]glucose, and glycolysis and glycogenolysis were stimulated by addition of glucagon (1 microg/ml). A (13)C NMR multiplet analysis of the methyl resonance of lactate provided an estimate of pyruvate derived from glucose vs glycogen while a multiplet analysis of the C4 resonance of glutamate provided an estimate of acetyl-CoA derived from glycolytic pyruvate vs glycogenolytic pyruvate. These two indices were not equivalent and their difference was further magnified in the presence of insulin during the stimulation phase. These combined observations are consistent with functional compartmentation of glycolytic and glycogenolytic enzymes that allows pyruvate generated by these two processes to be distinguished at the level of lactate and acetyl-CoA.

Animals↗

Increased hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate after an oral glucose load does not affect gluconeogenesis.

The generally accepted metabolic concept that fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) inhibits gluconeogenesis by directly inhibiting fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase is based entirely on in vitro observations. To establish whether gluconeogenesis is indeed inhibited by Fru-2,6-P2 in intact animals, a novel NMR method was developed using [U-13C]glucose and 2H2O as tracers. The method was used to estimate the sources of plasma glucose from gastric absorption of oral [U-13C]glucose, from gluconeogenesis, and from glycogen in 24-h fasted rats. Liver Fru-2,6-P2 increased approximately 10-fold shortly after the glucose load, reached a maximum at 60 min, and then dropped to base-line levels by 150 min. The gastric contribution to plasma glucose reached approximately 50% at 30 min after the glucose load and gradually decreased thereafter. Although the contribution of glycogen to plasma glucose was small, glucose formed from gluconeogenesis was substantial throughout the study period even when liver Fru-2,6-P2 was high. Liver glycogen repletion was also brisk throughout the study period, reaching approximately 30 micromol/g at 3 h. These data demonstrate that Fru-2,6-P2 does not inhibit gluconeogenesis significantly in vivo.

Absorption↗

Noninvasive evaluation of liver metabolism by 2H and 13C NMR isotopomer analysis of human urine.

Mammalian liver disposes of acetaminophen and other ingested xenobiotics by forming soluble glucuronides that are subsequently removed via renal filtration. When given in combination with the stable isotopes 2H and 13C, the glucuronide of acetaminophen isolated from urine provides a convenient "chemical biopsy" for evaluating intermediary metabolism in the liver. Here, we describe isolation and purification of urinary acetaminophen glucuronide and its conversion to monoacetone glucose (MAG). Subsequent 2H and 13C NMR analysis of MAG from normal volunteers after ingestion of 2H2O and [U-13C3]propionate allowed a noninvasive profiling of hepatic gluconeogenic pathways. The method should find use in metabolic studies of infants and other populations where blood sampling is either limited or problematic.

Acetaminophen↗