Ai-Ling Lin1,
2, Daniel Coman3, Lihong Jiang3, Douglas L.
Rothman3, Fahmeed Hyder3
1Research
Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio,
San Antonio, TX, United States; 2Barshop Institute for Longevity
and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio,
San Antonio, TX, United States; 3Magnetic Resonance Research
Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
Caloric restriction seems to increase the lifespan in rodents. In the study, we used in vivo 1H[13C] MRS to characterize the effect of caloric restriction on rates of neuronal TCA cycle flux (VTCA,N) and total glutamatergic neurotransmission flux (Vcyc(tot)) from the glutamate and glutamine cycle in aged rats (24 months). We found that caloric restricted rats had significantly higher VTCA,N and Vcyc(tot) relative to controls, suggesting that caloric restricted rats had enhanced neuronal metabolism and that was similar to younger aged rats. This indicates that caloric restriction may delay brain age-related metabolic reduction in rodents.