Obstetrics & Gynaecology Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2021
Journal
Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Volume
54
Issue
5
First Page
1404
Last Page
1414
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1002/jmri.27677
Abstract
Background: Alterations in glycolysis are central to the increasing incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), highlighting a need for in vivo, non-invasive technologies to understand the development of hepatic metabolic aberrations. Purpose: To use hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and proton density fat fraction (PDFF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to investigate the effects of a chronic, life-long exposure to the Western diet (WD) in an animal model resulting in NAFLD; to investigate the hypothesis that exposure to the WD will result in NAFLD in association with altered pyruvate metabolism. Study Type: Prospective. Animal Model: Twenty-eight male guinea pigs weaned onto a control diet (N = 14) or WD (N = 14). Field Strength/Sequence: 3 T; T1-weighted gradient echo, T2-weighted spin-echo, three-dimensional gradient multi-echo fat-water separation (IDEAL-IQ), and broadband point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) chemical-shift sequences. Assessment: Median PDFF was calculated in the liver and hind limbs. [1-13C]pyruvate dynamic MRS in the liver was quantified by the time-to-peak (TTP) for each metabolite. Animals were euthanized and tissue was analyzed for lipid and cholesterol concentration and enzyme level and activity. Statistical Tests: Unpaired Student's t-tests were used to determine differences in measurements between the two diet groups. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to determine correlations between measurements. Results: Life-long WD consumption resulted in significantly higher liver PDFF and elevated triglyceride content in the liver. The WD group exhibited a decreased TTP for lactate production, and ex vivo analysis highlighted increased liver lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Data Conclusion: PDFF MRI results suggest differential fat deposition patterns occurring in animals fed a life-long WD characteristic of lean, or lacking excessive subcutaneous fat, NAFLD. The decreased liver lactate TTP and increased ex vivo LDH activity suggest lipid accumulation occurs in association with a shift from oxidative metabolism to anaerobic glycolytic metabolism in WD-exposed livers. Level of Evidence: 2. Technical Efficacy Stage: 1.