Observing exocrine pancreas metabolism using a novel pancreas perfusion technique in combination with hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate

In a clinical setting, ex vivo perfusions are routinely used to maintain and assess organ viability prior to transplants. Organ perfusions are also a model system to examine metabolic flux while retaining the local physiological structure, with significant success using hyperpolarized (HP) ¹³C NMR in this context. We use a novel exocrine pancreas perfusion technique via the common bile duct to assess acinar cell metabolism with HP [1-¹³C]pyruvate. The exocrine component of the pancreas produces digestive enzymes through the ductal system and is often neglected in research on the pancreas. Real-time production of [1-¹³C]lactate, [1-¹³C]alanine, [1-¹³C]malate, [4-¹³C]malate, [1-¹³C]aspartate, and H¹³CO₃⁻ was detected. The appearance of these resonances indicates flux through both pyruvate dehydrogenase and pyruvate carboxylase. We studied excised pancreata from C57BL/6J mice and NOD.Rag1^−/−.AI4^α/β mice, a commonly used model of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Pancreata from the T1D mice displayed increased lactate to alanine ratio without changes in oxygen consumption, signifying increased cytosolic NADH levels. The mass isotopologue analysis of the extracted pancreas tissue using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed confirmatory ¹³C enrichment in multiple TCA cycle metabolites that are products of pyruvate carboxylation. The methodology presented here has the potential to provide insight into mechanisms underlying several pancreatic diseases, such as diabetes, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer.