Abstract #3536

Study of Acetyl Carnitine Kinetics in Skeletal Muscle In Vivo using Hyperpolarized 1-13C Acetate

Jessica A. M. Bastiaansen¹, Tian Cheng¹, Mor Mishkovsky^1,2, Arnaud Comment^1,2, Rolf Gruetter^1,3

¹Laboratory of Functional & Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ²Department of Radiology, Universit de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ³Department of Radiology, Universit de Lausanne et Genve, Lausanne & Geneva, Switzerland

Carnitine plays a vital role in the regulation of muscle fuel metabolism and buffers mitochondrial acetyl CoA via rapid conversion into acetyl carnitine. Hyperpolarized ¹³C MR offers the possibility to directly monitor acetyl carnitine kinetics and provides significant new information about its metabolism. Herein, we studied acetyl carnitine kinetics in vivo following injections of hyperpolarized 1-¹³C acetate. Using a one site exchange metabolic model, we investigated acetyl carnitine formation in skeletal muscle in vivo and determined its kinetics to provide a paradigm for future studies involving altered pathology.