Production of hyperpolarized [1,4-13C2]malate from [1,4-13C2]fumarate is a marker of cell necrosis and treatment response in tumors.

Dynamic nuclear polarization of (13)C-labeled cell substrates has been shown to massively increase their sensitivity to detection in NMR experiments. The sensitivity gain is sufficiently large that if these polarized molecules are injected intravenously, their spatial distribution and subsequent conversion into other cell metabolites can be imaged. We have used this method to image the conversion of fumarate to malate in a murine lymphoma tumor in vivo after i.v. injection of hyperpolarized [1,4-(13)C(2)]fumarate. In isolated lymphoma cells, the rate of labeled malate production was unaffected by coadministration of succinate, which competes with fumarate for transport into the cell. There was, however, a correlation with the percentage of cells that had lost plasma membrane integrity, suggesting that the production of labeled malate from fumarate is a sensitive marker of cellular necrosis. Twenty-four hours after treating implanted lymphoma tumors with etoposide, at which point there were significant levels of tumor cell necrosis, there was a 2.4-fold increase in hyperpolarized [1,4-(13)C(2)]malate production compared with the untreated tumors. Therefore, the formation of hyperpolarized (13)C-labeled malate from [1,4-(13)C(2)]fumarate appears to be a sensitive marker of tumor cell death in vivo and could be used to detect the early response of tumors to treatment. Given that fumarate is an endogenous molecule, this technique has the potential to be used clinically.

Tissue-specific short chain fatty acid metabolism and slow metabolic recovery after ischemia from hyperpolarized NMR in vivo.

Mechanistic details of mammalian metabolism in vivo and dynamic metabolic changes in intact organisms are difficult to monitor because of the lack of spatial, chemical, or temporal resolution when applying traditional analytical tools. These limitations can be addressed by sensitivity enhancement technology for fast in vivo NMR assays of enzymatic fluxes in tissues of interest. We apply this methodology to characterize organ-specific short chain fatty acid metabolism and the changes of carnitine and coenzyme A pools in ischemia reperfusion. This is achieved by assaying acetyl-CoA synthetase and acetyl-carnitine transferase catalyzed transformations in vivo. The fast and predominant flux of acetate and propionate signal into acyl-carnitine pools shows the efficient buffering of free CoA levels. Sizeable acetyl-carnitine formation from exogenous acetate is even found in liver, where acetyl-CoA synthetase and acetyl-carnitine transferase activities have been assumed sequestered in different compartments. In vivo assays of altered acetate metabolism were applied to characterize pathological changes of acetate metabolism upon ischemia. Coenzyme pools in ischemic skeletal muscle are reduced in vivo even 1 h after disturbing muscle perfusion. Impaired mitochondrial metabolism and slow restoration of free CoA are corroborated by assays employing fumarate to show persistently reduced tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity upon ischemia. In the same animal model, anaerobic metabolism of pyruvate and tissue perfusion normalize faster than mitochondrial bioenergetics.

Computational analysis of the effects of the hERG channel opener NS1643 in a human ventricular cell model.

BACKGROUND: Dysfunction or pharmacologic inhibition of repolarizing cardiac ionic currents can lead to fatal arrhythmias. The hERG potassium channel underlies the repolarizing current I(Kr), and mutations therein can produce both long and short QT syndromes (LQT2 and SQT1). We previously reported on the diphenylurea compound NS1643, which acts on hERG channels in two distinct ways: by increasing overall conductance and by shifting the inactivation curve in the depolarized direction. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine which of the two components contributes more to the antiarrhythmic effects of NS1643 under normokalemic and hypokalemic conditions. METHODS: The study consisted of mathematical simulation of action potentials in a human ventricular ionic cell model in single cell and string of 100 cells. RESULTS: Regardless of external potassium concentration or diastolic interval used, NS1643 decreases action potential duration and triangulation. For single cells, NS1643 increases the postrepolarization refractory time but shortens the absolute refractory period. In one dimensional simulations, NS1643 increases the vulnerable window for unidirectional block but suppresses the emergence of premature action potentials and unidirectional blocks around APD(90). During normokalemia, shifting the inactivation curve has greater impact than increasing conductance, whereas the opposite occurs during hypokalemia. CONCLUSION: Increased hERG conductance and the depolarizing shift of the inactivation curve both contribute to the antiarrhythmic actions of NS1643, with relative effects dependent on external K(+) concentration.

Subtype-specific, bi-component inhibition of SK channels by low internal pH.

The effects of low intracellular pH (pH(i) 6.4) on cloned small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel currents of all three subtypes (SK1, SK2, and SK3) were investigated in HEK293 cells using the patch-clamp technique. In 400 nM internal Ca2+ [Ca2+]i, all subtypes were inhibited by pH(i) 6.4 in the order of sensitivity: SK1>SK3>SK2. The inhibition increased with the transmembrane voltage. In saturating internal Ca2+, the inhibition was abolished for SK1-3 channels at negative potentials, indicating a [Ca2+]i-dependent mode of inhibition. Application of 50 microM 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolone was able to potentiate SK3 current to the same extent as at neutral pH(i). We conclude that SK1-3 all are inhibited by low pH(i). We suggest two components of inhibition: a [Ca2+]i-dependent component, likely involving the SK beta-subunits calmodulin, and a voltage-dependent component, consistent with a pore-blocking effect. This pH(i)-dependent inhibition can be reversed pharmacologically.