Intrauterine fetal brain NMR spectroscopy: 1H and 31P studies in rats

Journal Article · Tue Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1989 · Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.1910120204· OSTI ID:6995206

Nakada, T; Kwee, I L; Suzuki, N; Houkin, K ^[1]

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1. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Martinez, CA (USA)

Fetal brain metabolism was investigated in utero noninvasively using multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in rats at two representative prenatal stages: early (17-18 days) and late (20-21 days) stages. Phosphorus-31 (31P) spectroscopy revealed that phosphocreatine is significantly lower in the early stage and increases to the level of early neonates by the late prenatal stage. Intracellular pH at the early stage was found to be strikingly high (7.52 +/- 0.21) and decreased to a level similar to that of neonates by the late stage (7.29 +/- 0.07). Phosphomonoester levels at both stages were similar to the values reported for early neonates. Water-suppressed proton (1H) spectroscopy demonstrated a distinctive in vivo fetal brain spectral pattern characterized by low levels of N-acetyl aspartate and high levels of taurine. High-resolution proton spectroscopy and homonuclear chemical-shift correlate spectroscopy of brain perchloric acid extracts confirmed these in vivo findings. In vitro 31P spectroscopy of acidified chloroform methanol extracts showed the characteristic membrane phospholipid profiles of fetal brain. The phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)-to-phosphatidylcholine (PC) ratio (PE/PC) did not show significant changes between the two stages at 0.40 +/- 0.11, a value similar to that of early neonates.

• OSTI ID: 6995206
• Journal Information: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; (USA), Journal Name: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; (USA) Vol. 12:2; ISSN 0740-3194; ISSN MRMEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550201* -- Biochemistry-- Tracer Techniques
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMINO ACIDS
ANIMALS
BARYONS
BODY
BRAIN
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
CHEMICAL SHIFT
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ESTERS
FERMIONS
FETUSES
HADRONS
IN VITRO
IN VIVO
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LIPIDS
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
MAMMALS
METABOLISM
NEONATES
NERVOUS SYSTEM
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
NUCLEI
NUCLEONS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PHOSPHOCREATINE
PHOSPHOLIPIDS
PHOSPHORUS 31
PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES
PREGNANCY
PROTONS
RATS
RESONANCE
RODENTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
VERTEBRATES