Correlation between skeletal muscle acetylcarnitine and phosphocreatine metabolism during submaximal exercise and recovery: interleaved 1H/31P MRS 7 T study

Abstract

Acetylcarnitine is an essential metabolite for maintaining metabolic flexibility and glucose homeostasis. The in vivo behavior of muscle acetylcarnitine content during exercise has not been shown with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the behavior of skeletal muscle acetylcarnitine during rest, plantar flexion exercise, and recovery in the human gastrocnemius muscle under aerobic conditions. Ten lean volunteers and nine overweight volunteers participated in the study. A 7 T whole-body MR system with a double-tuned surface coil was used to acquire spectra from the gastrocnemius medialis. An MR-compatible ergometer was used for the plantar flexion exercise. Semi-LASER-localized ¹H MR spectra and slab-localized ³¹P MR spectra were acquired simultaneously in one interleaved exercise/recovery session. The time-resolved interleaved ¹H/³¹P MRS acquisition yielded excellent data quality. A between-group difference in acetylcarnitine metabolism over time was detected. Significantly slower τ_{PCr recovery}, τ_{PCr on-kinetics}, and lower Q_max in the overweight group, compared to the lean group was found. Linear relations between τ_{PCr on-kinetics}, τ_{PCr recovery}, VO_2max and acetylcarnitine content were identified. In conclusion, we are the first to show in vivo changes of skeletal muscle acetylcarnitine during acute exercise and immediate exercise recovery with a submaximal aerobic workload using interleaved ¹H/³¹P MRS at 7 T.