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PubMed2001

An integrated (2)H and (13)C NMR study of gluconeogenesis and TCA cycle flux in humans.

Hepatic glucose synthesis from glycogen, glycerol, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle was measured in five overnight-fasted subjects by (1)H, (2)H, and (13)C NMR analysis of blood glucose, urinary acetaminophen glucuronide, and urinary phenylacetylglutamine after administration of [1,6-(13)C(2)]glucose, (2)H(2)O, and [U-(13)C(3)]propionate. This combination of tracers allows three separate elements of hepatic glucose production (GP) to be probed simultaneously in a single study: 1) endogenous GP, 2) the contribution of glycogen, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), and glycerol to GP, and 3) flux through PEP carboxykinase, pyruvate recycling, and the TCA cycle. Isotope-dilution measurements of [1,6-(13)C(2)] glucose by (1)H and (13)C NMR indicated that GP in 16-h-fasted humans was 10.7 +/- 0.9 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1). (2)H NMR spectra of monoacetone glucose (derived from plasma glucose) provided the relative (2)H enrichment at glucose H-2, H-5, and H-6S, which, in turn, reflects the contribution of glycogen, PEP, and glycerol to total GP (5.5 +/- 0.7, 4.8 +/- 1.0, and 0.4 +/- 0.3 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1), respectively). Interestingly, (13)C NMR isotopomer analysis of phenylacetylglutamine and acetaminophen glucuronide reported different values for PEP carboxykinase flux (68.8 +/- 9.8 vs. 37.5 +/- 7.9 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)), PEP recycling flux (59.1 +/- 9.8 vs. 27.8 +/- 6.8 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)), and TCA cycle flux (10.9 +/- 1.4 vs. 5.4 +/- 1.4 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)). These differences may reflect zonation of propionate metabolism in the liver.

Acetaminophen↗

PubMed1996

Uncoupling of contractile function from mitochondrial TCA cycle activity and MVO2 during reperfusion of ischemic hearts.

In this study we determined whether contractile function becomes uncoupled during reperfusion of ischemic hearts from mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity or myocardial O2 consumption (MVO2). Isolated working rat hearts perfused with buffer containing 1.2 mM palmitate and 11 mM glucose were subjected to 30 min of global ischemia followed by 60 min of aerobic reperfusion. During reperfusion, cardiac work recovered to 26.5 +/- 5.4% (n = 29) of preischemic levels, even though TCA cycle activity, fatty acid beta-oxidation, glucose oxidation, glycolysis, and MVO2 rapidly recovered. As a result, the efficiency of coupling between cardiac work and TCA cycle activity and between cardiac work and mitochondrial respiration decreased during reperfusion. In contrast, coupling of TCA cycle activity to MVO2 during reperfusion recovered to preischemic values. Addition of 1 mM dichloroacetate at reperfusion resulted in a significant increase in both cardiac work and cardiac efficiency during reperfusion. This was associated with a significant decrease in H+ production due to an improved balance between glycolysis and glucose oxidation. These data demonstrate that mitochondrial function and overall myocardial ATP production quickly recover in rat hearts after a 30-min period of global ischemia. However, mitochondrial ATP production is not efficiently translated into mechanical work during reperfusion. This may be due to an imbalance between glycolysis and glucose oxidation, resulting in an increase in H+ production and a decrease in cardiac efficiency.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed2000

Investigation of the TCA cycle and the glyoxylate shunt in Escherichia coli BL21 and JM109 using (13)C-NMR/MS.

Acetate accumulation is a common problem observed in aerobic high cell density Escherichia coli cultures. A previous report has hypothesized that the glyoxylate shunt is active in a low acetate producer, E. coli BL21, and inactive in a high acetate producer, JM109. To further investigate this hypothesis, we now develop a model for the incorporation of (13)C from uniformly labeled glucose into key TCA cycle intermediates. The (13)C isotopomer distributions of oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA are first determined using NMR and MS techniques. These distributions are next validated by predicting the NMR spectrum of glutamate. Under steady state isotopic conditions, and with knowledge of the full isotopomer distributions of oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA, the flux ratios through the TCA cycle and the glycoxylate shunt are obtained with respect to the flux through the PPC anaplerotic shunt. We conclude that in BL21, the glyoxylate shunt is active at 22% of the flux through the TCA cycle, and is inactive in JM109. Further, in BL21, the flux through the TCA cycle equals the flux through the PPC shunt, while in JM109 the TCA cycle flux is only third of the flux through the PPC shunt.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗

PubMed2001

TCA cycle kinetics in the rat heart by analysis of (13)C isotopomers using indirect (1)H.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that indirect (1)H[(13)C] detection of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates using heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation-total correlation spectroscopy (HMQC-TOCSY) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides additional (13)C isotopomer information that better describes the kinetic exchanges that occur between intracellular compartments than direct (13)C NMR detection. NMR data were collected on extracts of rat hearts perfused at various times with combinations of [2-(13)C]acetate, propionate, the transaminase inhibitor aminooxyacetate, and (13)C multiplet areas derived from spectra of tissue glutamate were fit to a standard kinetic model of the TCA cycle. Although the two NMR methods detect different populations of (13)C isotopomers, similar values were found for TCA cycle and exchange fluxes by analyzing the two data sets. Perfusion of hearts with unlabeled propionate in addition to [2-(13)C]acetate resulted in an increase in the pool size of all four-carbon TCA cycle intermediates. This allowed the addition of isotopomer data from aspartate and malate in addition to the more abundant glutamate. This study illustrates that metabolic inhibitors can provide new insights into metabolic transport processes in intact tissues.

Acetic Acid↗

PubMed2005

Dynamics of intracellular metabolites of glycolysis and TCA cycle during cell-cycle-related oscillation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In the present work LC-MS/MS was applied to measure the concentrations of intermediates of glycolysis and TCA cycle during autonomous, cell-cycle synchronized oscillations in aerobic, glucose-limited chemostat cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This study complements previously reported oscillations in carbon dioxide production rate, intracellular concentrations of trehalose and various free amino acids, and extracellular acetate and pyruvate in the same culture. Of the glycolytic intermediates, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, 2- and 3-phosphoglycerate, and phosphoenolpyruvate show the most pronounced oscillatory behavior, the latter three compounds oscillating out of phase with the former. This agrees with previously observed metabolic control by phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase. Although individually not clearly oscillating, several intermediates of the TCA cycle, i.e., alpha-ketoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, and malate, exhibited increasing concentration during the cell cycle phase with high carbon flux through glycolysis and TCA cycle. The average mass action ratios of beta-phosphoglucomutase and fumarase agreed well with previously determined in vitro equilibrium constants. Minor differences resulted for phosphoglucose isomerase and enolase. Together with the observed close correlation of the pool sizes of the involved metabolites, this might indicate that, in vivo, these reactions are operating close to equilibrium, whereby care must be taken due to possible differences between in vivo and in vitro conditions. Combining the data with previously determined intracellular amino acid levels from the same culture, a few clear correlations between catabolism and anabolism could be identified: phosphoglycerate/serine and alpha-ketoglutarate/lysine exhibited correlated oscillatory behavior, albeit with different phase shifts. Oscillations in intracellular amino acids might therefore be, at least partly, following oscillations of their anabolic precursors.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed1995

Gluconeogenesis and effect of nutritional status on TCA cycle activity in the insect Manduca sexta.

Gluconeogenesis from isotopically substituted (3-13C)alanine (Ala) was demonstrated in the last larval instar of an insect, Manduca sexta, when maintained on low carbohydrate diets. 13C was incorporated into all carbons of the blood sugar trehalose (Tre), but enrichments of C1 and C6, and C2 and C5 were greatest. Relative to the amount of [3-13C]Ala metabolized, larvae maintained on a low carbohydrate diet supplemented with casein displayed the greatest enrichment of Tre. Very little de novo synthesis of Tre was observed in larvae maintained on a complete-balanced diet containing calorically equivalent amounts of sucrose and casein. Starvation failed to induce gluconeogenesis and 13C was not incorporated into Tre in starved insects. Activity of the TCA cycle contributed approximately 10% of the 13C incorporated into Tre in larvae on low carbohydrate diets, while the TCA cycle contribution in larvae on the complete diet approached 70%. The pattern of 13C enrichment of glucose in larvae on the low carbohydrate diets indicated that cytoplasmic carboxylation, possibly due to 'malic enzyme'-like activity, contributed significantly to the synthesis of Tre. The pentose phosphate pathway was evidenced in insects on all diets. Glucose labelling ratios indicated a pentose cycling flux of 10 to 20% in insects on the low carbohydrate diets and 50% in larvae on the complete diet. Glutamine together with lesser amounts of glutamate and glutathione were also products of the labelled Ala. The distribution of label in these products under different dietary conditions demonstrated shifts in the relative contribution of pyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate dehydrogenase activities for providing substrate to the TCA cycle. In the expected fashion starved insects and insects on the low carbohydrate diets incorporated a greater proportion of 13C into the TCA cycle via carboxylation while incorporation by the two pathways was similar in insects on the complete diet. The significance of these findings with regard to the regulation of gluconeogenesis in M. sexta and comparison of the present results with those obtained from studies of hepatic gluconeogenesis are discussed.

Alanine↗

PubMed1995

Oxidation of glucose carbon entering the TCA cycle is reduced by glutamine in small intestine epithelial cells.

The influence of glutamine on glucose oxidation was assessed in epithelial cells isolated from the mucosa of the proximal, mid-, and distal small intestine of young, fed, male rats. Glucose oxidation declined along the length of the small intestine, with values from the mid- and distal segments representing approximately 55% and 40%, respectively, of the value from the proximal segment. A gradient along the small intestine was noted also in the influence of glutamine on glucose oxidation: glutamine suppressed glucose oxidation approximately 60% in the proximal small intestine, 39% in the mid-intestine, and 31% in the distal small intestine. Glutamine suppressed the oxidation of glucose carbon that entered the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle; this was determined using CO2 ratios derived from acetate and glucose isotopes. In cells from the proximal segment, the probability that carbon entering the cycle would complete one full turn was reduced by glutamine from 0.77 to 0.28. The entry of glucose-derived pyruvate into the TCA cycle did not appear to be influenced by the presence of glutamine, however. Glutamine had no influence on the proportion of glucose metabolism that occurred via the pentose phosphate pathway (which averaged 5% or less), but reduced flux of carbon through pyruvate carboxylase relative to flux through pyruvate dehydrogenase from 40% to 9% in cells from the proximal segment. These data suggest that, in the presence of glutamine, the fate of pyruvate carbon (derived from glucose or elsewhere) entering the TCA cycle is altered from that of oxidation to anaplerosis and subsequent efflux of TCA cycle intermediates into newly synthesized compounds.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Circadian rhythm of a TCA cycle enzyme is apparently regulated at the translational level in the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum.

Previously, the authors have reported that intracellular amounts of several metabolic-related enzymes from the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum(formerly Gonyaulax polyedra) showed a daily rhythm under a 12:12 h LD cycle. This led the authors to hypothesize that a circadian clock controls metabolism, including the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. In this study, the authors investigated daily changes in the levels of mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity of several metabolic enzymes during 12:12 h LD, 8:16 h LD, and constant light conditions. The NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADPICDH) in the TCA cycle exhibited circadian changes of protein abundance and enzyme activity under all conditions, whereas its mRNA level remained constant throughout the cycle. These results indicate that the rhythm of NADPICDH is regulated by a circadian control of protein synthesis or modification rather than by message levels and suggest that the TCA cycle may be controlled by the circadian clock system.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Metabolism of [3-13C]pyruvate in TCA cycle mutants of yeast.

The utilization of pyruvate and acetate by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was examined using 13C and 1H NMR methodology in intact wild-type yeast cells and mutant yeast cells lacking Krebs tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzymes. These mutant cells lacked either mitochondrial (NAD) isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD-ICDH1),alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (alpha KGDC), or mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (MDH1). These mutant strains have the common phenotype of being unable to grow on acetate. [3-13C]-Pyruvate was utilized efficiently by wild-type yeast with the major intermediates being [13C]glutamate, [13C]acetate, and [13C]alanine. Deletion of any one of these Krebs TCA cycle enzymes changed the metabolic pattern such that the major synthetic product was [13C]galactose instead of [13C]glutamate, with some formation of [13C]acetate and [13C]alanine. The fact that glutamate formation did not occur readily in these mutants despite the metabolic capacity to synthesize glutamate from pyruvate is difficult to explain. We discuss the possibility that these data support the metabolon hypothesis of Krebs TCA cycle enzyme organization.

Acetates↗

PubMed1998

Channeling of TCA cycle intermediates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Metabolism of 13C labeled substrates viz. glucose and pyruvate in S. cerevisiae has been studied by 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. C3-Pyruvate, alanine and lactate, and C2-acetate are produced from [1-13C]glucose. The pyruvate, entering TCA cycle, leads to preferential labeling of C2-glutamate. [2-13C]Glucose results in labeling of C2-pyruvate, alanine and lactate. Some C3-pyruvate is also produced, indicating the routing of the label from glucose through pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). In TCA cycle the C2-pyruvate preferentially labels the C3-glutamate. The NMR spectra, obtained with [2-13C]pyruvate as substrate, confirm the above observations. These results suggest that the intermediates of TCA cycle are transferred from one enzyme active site to another in a manner that allows only restricted rotation of the intermediates. That is, the intermediates are partially channeled.

Citric Acid Cycle↗

PubMed1995

Simultaneous determination of the rates of the TCA cycle, glucose utilization, alpha-ketoglutarate/glutamate exchange, and glutamine synthesis in human brain by NMR.

13C isotopic tracer data previously obtained by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance in the human brain in vivo were analyzed using a mathematical model to determine metabolic rates in a region of the human neocortex. The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle rate was 0.73 +/- 0.19 mumol min-1 g-1 (mean +/- SD; n = 4). The standard deviation reflects primarily intersubject variation, since individual uncertainties were low. The rate of alpha-ketoglutarate/glutamate exchange was 57 +/- 26 mumol min-1 g-1 (n = 3), which is much greater than the TCA cycle rate; the high rate indicates that alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamate are in rapid exchange and can be treated as a single combined kinetic pool. The rate of synthesis of glutamine from glutamate was 0.47 mumol min-1 g-1 (n = 4), with 95% confidence limits of 0.139 and 3.094 mumol min-1 g-1; individual uncertainties were biased heavily toward high synthesis rates. From the TCA cycle rate the brain oxygen consumption was estimated to be 2.14 +/- 0.48 mumol min-1 g-1 (5.07 +/- 1.14 ml 100 g-1 min-1; n = 4), and the rate of brain glucose consumption was calculated to be 0.37 +/- 0.08 mumol min-1 g-1 (n = 4). The sensitivity of the model to the assumptions made was evaluated, and the calculated values were found to be unchanged as long as the assumptions remained near reported physiological values.

Brain↗

PubMed1999

Effect of gene disruptions of the TCA cycle on production of succinic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Succinate is the main taste component produced by yeasts during sake (Japanese rice wine) fermentation. The pathway leading to accumulation of succinate was examined in liquid culture in the presence of a high concentration (15%) of glucose under aerobic and anaerobic conditions using a series of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains in which various genes that encode the expression of enzymes required in TCA cycle were disrupted. When cultured in YPD medium containing 15% glucose under aerobic conditions, the KGD1 (alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase) gene disrupted mutant produced a lower level of succinate than the wild-type strain, while the SDH1 (succinate dehydrogenase) gene-disrupted mutant produced an increased level of succinate. On the other hand, the FUM1 (fumarase) gene disrupted mutant produced significantly higher levels of fumarate but did not form malate at all. These results indicate that succinate, fumarate and malate are mainly synthesized through the TCA cycle (oxidative direction) even in the presence of glucose at a concentration as high as 15%. When the growth condition was shifted from aerobic to anaerobic, the increased level of succinate in SDH1 disruptants was no longer observed, whereas the decreased level of succinate in the KGD1 diruptant was still observed. A double mutant of the two fumarate reductase isozyme genes (OSM1 and FRDS) showed a succinate productivity of 50% as compared to the parent when cells were incubated in glucose-buffered solution. These results indicate that succinate could be synthesized through two pathways, namely, alpha-ketoglutarate oxidation via the TCA cycle and fumarate reduction under anaerobic conditions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Exogenous lactate ameliorates Aβ-induced energy deficit and neurotoxicity with increased mitochondrial TCA cycle carbon flux in SH-SY5Y cells.

A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the existence of metabolic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting that deprivation of energy substrates impairs cellular dynamics. As glucose utilization declines in patients with AD, the need for alternative energy sources becomes crucial to sustain neuronal activities and prevent cell death induced by neurotoxic proteins, such as amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates. In this context, lactate has been investigated as a potential alternative brain energy substrate in several studies, yet its impact on neuronal cells under Aβ-induced toxicity remains unclear. We confirmed significant suppression of energy production-related biological pathways by analyzing brain transcriptomic data of patients with AD. In subsequent in vitro studies, exogenous lactate treatment ameliorated neuron-like cell death caused by Aβ aggregates. Using a 13C stable isotope tracer, we verified cellular lactate uptake and its incorporation into tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in neurons under the neurotoxic condition. 13C metabolic flux analysis further supported these findings by revealing that lactate treatment restored Aβ-suppressed mitochondrial TCA cycle fluxes. These metabolic improvements were accompanied by increased expression of mitochondrial proteins. These findings support lactate shuttling as a mechanism for supplying lactate-derived carbon to mitochondrial energy metabolism, which may improve neuronal resilience under Aβ-induced metabolic stress.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study shows that lactate treatment attenuates Aβ-induced cell death in neuron-like cells and supports mitochondrial carbon metabolism. Glycolytic hypometabolism was observed in human AD brain transcriptome and Aβ-treated neuron-like cells. We confirmed that lactate replenished mitochondrial energetics, making neurons more resilient to neurotoxicity. Using 13C tracing and metabolic flux analysis, we found that lactate-derived carbon was incorporated into the TCA cycle and that lactate treatment was associated with restoration of Aβ-suppressed mitochondrial fluxes.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Exercise with low muscle glycogen augments TCA cycle anaplerosis but impairs oxidative energy provision in humans.

We tested the hypotheses that: (i) exercise with low muscle glycogen would reduce pyruvate flux through the alanine aminotransferase (AAT) reaction and attenuate the increase in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, and (ii) attenuation of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate (TCAI) pool expansion would limit TCA cycle flux, thereby accelerating phosphocreatine (PCr) degradation. Eight men cycled for 10 min at 70 % of their (VO(2,max) on two occasions: (i) following their normal diet (CON) and (ii) after cycling to exhaustion and consuming a low carbohydrate diet for approximately 2 days (LG). Biopsies (m. vastus lateralis) confirmed that [glycogen] was lower in LG vs. CON at rest (257 +/- 18 vs. 611 +/- 54 mmol (kg dry mass)(-1); P 0.05); however, net glycogenolysis was not different after 1 or 10 min of exercise. PCr degradation from rest to 1 min was approximately 26 % higher in LG vs. CON (38 +/- 4 vs. 28 +/- 4 mmol (kg dry mass)(-1); P< or =0.05). The sum of five measured TCAIs (approximately 90 % of total pool) was not different between trials at rest and after 1 min, but was higher after 10 min in LG vs. CON (5.51 +/- 0.43 vs. 4.45 +/- 0.49 mmol (kg dry mass)(-1); P 0.05). Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) activity was lower during exercise in LG vs. CON (2.2 +/- 0.2 vs. 1.4 +/- 0.2 mmol min(-1) (kg wet weight)(-1) after 10 min; P< or =0.05), and acetylcarnitine was approximately threefold less, implying increased pyruvate availability for flux through AAT. Resting muscle [glutamate] was higher in LG vs. CON (16.1 +/- 0.8 vs. 11.8 +/- 0.4 mmol (kg dry mass)(-1); P< or =0.05) and the net decrease in [glutamate] during exercise was approximately 30 % greater in LG vs. CON. These findings suggest that: (i) contrary to our hypotheses, LG increased anaplerosis by decreasing PDC flux and/or increasing the conversion of glutamate carbon to TCAIs, and (ii) accelerating the rate of muscle TCAI expansion did not affect oxidative energy provision during the initial phase of contraction, since changes in [TCAI] were not temporally related to PCr degradation.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Multiplet structure of 13C NMR signal from glutamate and direct detection of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates.

For the first time, 13C NMR signals are shown from 13C-enriched, low-level tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates from extracts of normal cardiac tissue. As the low tissue content of the key intermediates alpha-ketoglutarate (alpha-KG) and succinate (SUC) in normal, well perfused tissues has until now precluded direct NMR detection from intact tissues and tissue extracts, 13C NMR signal from glutamate has generally been used to infer the isotopomer patterns of intermediates that are in chemical exchange with glutamate. However, the required assumptions regarding intracellular compartmentation for such indirect analysis have not been previously tested, as glutamate is largely cytosolic while the TCA cycle enzymes are located in the mitochondria. Chromatographic isolation of alpha-KG and SUC from heart tissue extracts allowed isotopomer analysis to be performed for comparison with that of glutamate. At steady state, a direct relationship between glutamate and alpha-ketoglutarate isotopomers was found, but succinate isotopomers matched those of glutamate only in hearts that displayed negligible contributions from the oxidation of unlabeled endogenous carbon sources.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Modulation of TCA cycle enzymes and electron transport chain systems in experimental lung cancer.

The modulatory effect of Withania somnifera along with paclitaxel on tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle key enzymes and electron transport chain complexes were investigated against lung cancer induced by benzo(a)pyrene in Swiss albino mice. Decreased activities of TCA cycle key enzymes such as isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (alpha-KGDH) in lung cancer bearing animals were observed. Upon W. somnifera along with paclitaxel administration the above biochemical changes were inclined towards normal control animal values. Activities of mitochondrial enzymes and electron transport complexes were analyzed in the experimental groups to determine the efficiency of energy production. This study further confirms the chemotherapeutic effect of W. somnifera along with paclitaxel which is found to be more effective in the treatment of lung cancer. Thus these results are consistent with our hypothesis that the combination chemotherapy of W. somnifera along with paclitaxel as a promising chemotherapeutic agent.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Succinate links TCA cycle dysfunction to oncogenesis by inhibiting HIF-alpha prolyl hydroxylase.

Several mitochondrial proteins are tumor suppressors. These include succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and fumarate hydratase, both enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. However, to date, the mechanisms by which defects in the TCA cycle contribute to tumor formation have not been elucidated. Here we describe a mitochondrion-to-cytosol signaling pathway that links mitochondrial dysfunction to oncogenic events: succinate, which accumulates as a result of SDH inhibition, inhibits HIF-alpha prolyl hydroxylases in the cytosol, leading to stabilization and activation of HIF-1alpha. These results suggest a mechanistic link between SDH mutations and HIF-1alpha induction, providing an explanation for the highly vascular tumors that develop in the absence of VHL mutations.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Glycolysis versus TCA cycle in the primate brain as measured by combining 18F-FDG PET and 13C-NMR.

The glycolytic flux (cerebral metabolic rate of glucose CMRglc) and the TCA cycle flux (VTCA) were measured in the same monkeys by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and 13C NMR spectroscopy, respectively. Registration of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and PET data were used for comparison of CMRglc and VTCA in the exact same area of the brain. Both fluxes were in good agreement with literature values (CMRglc=0.23+/-0.03 micromol/g min, VTCA=0.53+/-0.13 micromol/g min). The resulting [CMRglc/VTCA] ratio was 0.46+/-0.12 (n=5, mean+/-s.d.), not significantly different from the 0.5 expected when glucose is the sole fuel that is completely oxidized. Our results provide a cross-validation of both techniques. Comparison of CMRglc with VTCA is in agreement with a metabolic coupling between the TCA cycle and glycolysis under normal physiologic conditions.

Animals↗