A method for obtaining the 14C-isotope distribution in malate(C-2,3)

Analysis of tricarboxylic acid-cycle metabolism of hepatoma cells by comparison of 14CO2 ratios

The CO2-ratios method is applied to the analysis of abnormalities of TCA (tricarboxylic acid)-cycle metabolism in AS-30D rat ascites-hepatoma cells. This method utilizes steady-state 14CO2-production rates from pairs of tracers of the same compound to evaluate TCA-cycle flux patterns. Equations are presented that quantitatively convert CO2 ratios into estimates of probability of flux through TCA-cycle-related pathways. Results of this study indicated that the ratio of 14CO2 produced from [1,4-14C]succinate to 14CO2 produced from [2,3-14C]succinate was increased by the addition of glutamine (5 mM) to the medium. An increase in the succinate CO2 ratio is quantitatively related to an increased flux of unlabelled carbon into the TCA-cycle-intermediate pools. Analysis of 14C distribution in [14C]citrate derived from [2,3-14C]succinate indicated that flux from the TCA cycle to the acetyl-CoA-derived carbons of citrate was insignificant. Thus the increased succinate CO2 ratio observed in the presence of glutamine could only result from an increased flux of carbon into the span of the TCA cycle from citrate to oxaloacetate. This result is consistent with increased flux of glutamine to alpha-oxoglutarate in the incubation medium containing exogenous glutamine. Comparison of the pyruvate CO2 ratio, steady-state 14CO2 production from [2-14C]pyruvate versus [3-14C]pyruvate, with the succinate 14CO2 ratio detected flux of pyruvate to C4 TCA-cycle intermediates in the medium containing glutamine. This result was consistent with the observation that [14C]aspartate derived from [2-14C]pyruvate was labelled in C-2 and C-3. 14C analysis also produced evidence for flux of TCA-cycle carbon to alanine. This study demonstrates that the CO2-ratios method is applicable in the analysis of the metabolic properties of AS-30D cells. This methodology has verified that the atypical TCA-cycle metabolism previously described for AS-30D-cell mitochondria occurs in intact AS-30D rat hepatoma cells.

Substrate metabolism of isolated jejunal epithelium: conservation of three-carbon units

This study characterizes the substrate metabolism of isolated jejunal epithelial cells. Utilization of substrates was assessed by spectrophotometric assay. Significant quantities of glucose, glutamine, and ketone bodies were consumed in a 1-h period; lactate and ammonia were produced. [U-14C]glucose was metabolized in this medium to approximately three moles of lactate per mole of CO2. The pattern of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolism was analyzed utilizing media containing different concentrations of potential metabolic substrates and trace quantities of [14C]- succinate. O2 consumption rates indicated that glutamine can serve as an energy source in the absence of other substrates. Relative 14CO2 production from [1,4-14C]succinate versus [2,3-14C]succinate, which estimates flux of TCA cycle intermediates to products other than CO2, was increased more than twofold when glutamine was the only major substrate available. Alanine was produced from TCA cycle intermediates. Analysis of the citrate labeling pattern in the presence of [2,3-14C] succinate suggested that carbon from the TCA cycle does not form a significant fraction of acetyl-CoA used for citrate synthesis and that glutamine carbon was not completely oxidized to CO2. These findings suggest that glucose and glutamine are converted to three-carbon compounds by the jejunal epithelium.

Analysis of tricarboxylic acid cycle using [14C]citrate specific activity ratios

The information content of citrate carbon specific radioactivity ratios in steady-state 14C isotopic studies has been analyzed. Sixteen steady-state equations resulted containing five unknowns, 14 equations in terms of citrate carbon specific radioactivity ratios, and two modified forms of the "CO2 ratio" equation. Although each of the 16 equations is not independent, there is more than one independent equation for each variable. These additional equations may be used to test the assumptions on which the model is based. Each of the five unknowns is defined as the probability of flux around a complete cycle, either the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle or a futile cycle such as pyruvate--oxaloacetate--pyruvate. To solve these equations for the five unknowns, an investigator need only measure the specific radioactivity of various citrate carbons and the 14CO2 production rate. The study did not yield a direct expression for net flux between pyruvate and 4-carbon TCA cycle intermediates. However, these equations do place certain constraints on the net flux through this important pathway.