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Title: Assessment of mitochondrial function in vivo with a breath test utilizing alpha-ketoisocaproic acid

Journal Article · · Hepatology; (USA)
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (USA)

A breath test to assess hepatic mitochondrial function in vivo was evaluated in rats. Following the i.p. administration of (1-{sup 14}C)-alpha-ketoisocaproic acid, {sup 14}CO{sub 2} exhalation reached a peak within 10 to 20 min and then declined exponentially, with a half-life of 14.3 min. Control animals exhaled 38.6% of the administered radioactivity within 1 hr. In functionally anhepatic animals, {sup 14}CO{sub 2} in breath amounted to 23% of that in control animals, indicating that alpha-ketoisocaproic acid decarboxylation reflects mainly hepatic mitochondrial function in vivo. Ethanol (3 gm per kg) significantly decreased alpha-ketoisocaproic acid decarboxylation (21.8% of the dose appearing in breath in 1 hr), probably due to the ethanol-induced shift in the NAD+:NADH ratio. In contrast, an uncoupler of mitochondrial respiration, sodium salicylate (375 mg per kg), increased the decarboxylation of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid (56.3% of the dose recovered as {sup 14}CO{sub 2} in 1 hr). Mitochondrial damage induced by 4-pentenoic acid decreased the decarboxylation of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid but did not affect the microsomal metabolism of antipyrine. The present data indicate that the alpha-ketoisocaproic acid breath test provides a noninvasive estimate of hepatic mitochondrial function in vivo which, when applied to man, might yield clinically useful information.

OSTI ID:
5021704
Journal Information:
Hepatology; (USA), Vol. 10:5; ISSN 0270-9139
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English