Endocrine Abstracts

Metabolism comprises anabolic (converting small molecules into big ones) and catabolic processes (converting food into useful energy), predicts the functional state of a cell, and analyzes the levels of the end products (metabolites) of anabolism and catabolism. Metabolic profiling using stable isotope tracer technology ([U-¹³C₆] sugars) allows the measurement of the changing pattern of distribution of ¹³C carbons from [U-¹³C₆] glucose in intracellular metabolic intermediates, and provides a simultaneous measure of carbon flow toward the pentose cycle, glycolysis, direct glucose oxidation, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and fatty acid synthesis. As high refined carbohydrate intake resulting in elevated insulin, and insulin-like growth factors is hypothesized as a risk factor for several cancers, we sought to gain insight into cancer carbohydrate metabolism. Therefore, we employed [U-¹³C₆] glucose, or [U-¹³C₆] fructose stable isotope-based dynamic metabolic profiling (SIDMAP) to track and quantify changes in glucose, and fructose carbon re-distribution among major metabolic pathways in cancer cells. The principles of this methodology will be outlined and our preliminary studies in cancer used to illustrate how this technique can be applied to study human disease and potentially enable development of novel imaging and therapeutic approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.