Imaging of Hepatic Steatosis & Hyperpolarized Carbon Metabolism at 14T - Applications to a Murine Model of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Andrew G. Taylor¹, Kayvan Keshari¹, Robert Bok¹, Subramaniam Sukumar¹, Aliya Qayyum¹, John Kurhanewicz¹

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a very common cause of chronic liver disease, however understanding of metabolic abnormalities and prognostic indicators in NAFLD is limited. In vivo studies of hepatic metabolism in a mouse model of NAFLD were performed at 600MHz using copolarized [1-13C]-pyruvate and 13C-urea. An interleaved fat- and water-sensitive sequence, used to monitor disease progression, correlated well with extent of steatosis on subsequent histology. No significant change in hepatic pyruvate metabolism was identified in NAFLD mice relative to control, consistent with published work suggesting hypermetabolism in this model results from increased lipid flux through β-oxidation.