Lactate topography of the human brain using hyperpolarized 13C-MRI

Casey Y Lee; Hany Soliman; Benjamin J Geraghty; Albert P Chen; Kim A Connelly; Ruby Endre; William J Perks; Chris Heyn; Sandra E Black; Charles H Cunningham

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116202

Lactate topography of the human brain using hyperpolarized ¹³C-MRI

Neuroimage. 2020 Jan 1:204:116202. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116202. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ GE Healthcare, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ Pharmacy, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁸ Radiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Department of Medicine (Neurology) and Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: charles.cunningham@utoronto.ca.

PMID: 31557546
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116202

Abstract

Lactate is now recognized as an important intermediate in brain metabolism, but its role is still under investigation. In this work we mapped the distribution of lactate and bicarbonate produced from intravenously injected ¹³C-pyruvate over the whole brain using a new imaging method, hyperpolarized ¹³C MRI (N = 14, ages 23 to 77). Segmenting the ¹³C-lactate images into brain atlas regions revealed a pattern of lactate that was preserved across individuals. Higher lactate signal was observed in cortical grey matter compared to white matter and was highest in the precuneus, cuneus and lingual gyrus. Bicarbonate signal, indicating flux of [1-¹³C]pyruvate into the TCA cycle, also displayed consistent spatial distribution. One-way ANOVA to test for significant differences in lactate among atlas regions gave F = 87.6 and p < 10^-6. This report of a "lactate topography" in the human brain and its consistent pattern is evidence of region-specific lactate biology that is preserved across individuals.

Keywords: ANLS; Aerobic glycolysis; Bicarbonate; Hyperpolarized 13C MRI; Lactate; Metabolism.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Atlases as Topic
Bicarbonates / metabolism
Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / methods*
Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex / metabolism*
Female
Gray Matter / diagnostic imaging
Gray Matter / metabolism*
Humans
Lactic Acid / metabolism*
Male
Middle Aged
Pyruvic Acid / pharmacokinetics
White Matter / diagnostic imaging
White Matter / metabolism*
Young Adult

Substances

Bicarbonates
Lactic Acid
Pyruvic Acid

Grants and funding

PJT-152928/CIHR/Canada