Symposium and Training V:
¹³C in Metabolic Research

Thursday, May 8, 1997

Presented by:
The Mary Nell and Ralph B. Rogers
Magnetic Resonance Center
and
The National Center for Research Resources

Program Objective | Guest Speakers | UT Southwestern Speakers | Program Schedule | Corporate Sponsors

Program Objective

The goal of this symposium was to provide an introduction to ¹³C NMR isotopomer analysis and to present current applications of ¹³C NMR or ¹³C mass spectrometry to metabolic studies.  ¹³C mass spectrometry was again included in the program because we believe that investigators using ¹³C mass spec and ¹³C NMR would benefit from insights provided by the alternative technology.  As usual, the Symposium was followed by a reception for visiting faculty and a dinner for all participants which allowed interaction between attendees and faculty.

In our earlier symposia the communication between attendees and faculty was quite good if the topic was general NMR, physiology, clinical issues, etc.  However, we were dissatisfied with the quality of discussion and degree of interaction in the areas in which the Facility can contribute uniquely.  Therefore, we reorganized the program in 1997.  Our target audience was faculty, fellows, and students who are using or considering ¹³C NMR or ¹³C mass spectrometry for metabolic studies.  We added a training session which was an introduction to ¹³C NMR isotopomer analysis, factors in experimental design and interpretation, and analysis of ¹³C NMR spectra.  We also included the audience in a works in progress session in which attendees showed one or two spectra from their own labs and discussed interpretation.

In the afternoon session, the guest faculty reviewed current applications of ¹³C for metabolic research.  The reception and dinner provided a more casual atmosphere for contact between the attendees and speakers.  After dinner, Dr.  Bernard Landau discussed his scientific and ethical concerns regarding the use of radioactive tracers in human volunteers, particularly ¹⁴C.  Among the topics he reviewed was the distinction between tracer half life and the biological half life of the radioactive substrate which may be unexpectedly long if the compound is incorporated in tissue stores.  His superb presentation generated a great deal of discussion which was occasionally rather pointed.  Dr.  Landau concluded that the moral obligation of an experimentalist is to minimize exposure of patients and volunteers to radiation.  In response, one participant questioned how any radioisotope experiments can be ethically justified since stable isotope methods are now available.  Another attendee questioned the liability of an institution which knowingly generates "second hand radiation" i.e.  exhaled ¹⁴CO₂ to which visitors and employees may be unknowingly exposed.

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Guest Speakers

Maren Laughlin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery and Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Robert Wolfe, Ph.D., Chief of Metabolism and Professor of Biochemistry, Shriners Burns Institute, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas

Rolf Gruetter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Radiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

Paul A. Keifer, Ph.D., Senior NMR Applications Chemist, Varian NMR Instruments, Palo Alto, CA

Bernard Landau, M.D., Ph.D Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

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UT Southwestern Speakers

Craig R. Malloy, M.D., Professor of Radiology and Internal Medicine, and Director of the Southwestern Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Facility at the Mary Nell and Ralph B. Rogers Magnetic Resonance Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

A. Dean Sherry, Ph.D., Professor of Radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Dallas

F. Mark Jeffrey, D. Phil., Assistant Professor of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

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Program Schedule

7:45 p.m. On Site Registration

TRAINING:  INTRODUCTION TO 13C NMR ISOTOPOMER ANALYSIS FOR METABOLIC STUDIES

8:15 p.m. Designing the Question and the Experiment Craig R. Malloy, M.D.

9:00 p.m. Cardiac Metabolism by 13C NMR:  Kinetics and the Non-Steady State Experiment A. Dean Sherry, Ph.D.

9:45 p.m. Hepatic Metabolism and Complex Pathways by 13C NMR:  The Steady- State Experiment F. Mark Jeffrey, D. Phil.

10:30 p.m. Break

10:45 p.m. Participants' Presentations and Discussion

12:00 p.m. Adjourn

SYMPOSIUM:  13C NMR AND 13C MASS SPECTROMETRY IN METABOLIC RESEARCH

1:00 p.m. Magnesium Regulation in Erythrocytes Studied by 13C NMR Maren Laughlin, Ph.D.

2:00 p.m. 13C Studies by Mass Spectroscopy Robert Wolfe, Ph.D.

3:00 p.m. Break

3:30 p.m. Analysis of Metabolic Pathways by 13C NMR In Vivo Rolf Gruetter, Ph.D.

4:30 p.m. Quantitative Analyses of High Resolution NMR Spectra Paul A. Keifer, Ph.D.

5:30 p.m. Wine and cheese reception

6:30 p.m. Buffet dinner

7:30 p.m. The Human Radiation Experiments: The Future for Radioisotopes in Clinical Investigations Bernard Landau, M.D., Ph.D.

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Corporate Sponsors

• Bruker Instruments

• Cambridge Isotope Laboratories

• Isotec

• Mallinckrodt Medical

• Martek Biosciences Corporation

• Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation

• Siemens Medical Systems

• Tecmag

• Varian NMR Instruments

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