Assessing the effects of hyperpolarized [2-13C]lactate saturation on detectable brain metabolism

Following hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate MRI studies that demonstrated insights into brain metabolism using saturation experiments, this study sought to assess whether metabolic pathways probed by [2-13C]pyruvate could similarly be interrogated. Our investigation showed that not exciting [2-13C]lactate led to a 2-fold increase in [5-13C]glutamate signal, which may indicate compartmentalized metabolism in the brain.