Abstract
Glycolysis is a fundamental metabolic process in all organisms. Anomalies in glucose metabolism are linked to various pathological conditions. In particular, elevated aerobic glycolysis is a characteristic feature of rapidly growing cells. Glycolysis and the closely related pentose phosphate pathway can be monitored in real time by hyperpolarized (13) C-labeled metabolic substrates such as (13) C-enriched, deuterated D-glucose derivatives, [2-(13) C]-D-fructose, [2-(13) C] dihydroxyacetone, [1-(13) C]-D-glycerate, [1-(13) C]-D-glucono-δ-lactone and [1-(13) C] pyruvate in healthy and diseased tissues. Elevated glycolysis in tumors (the Warburg effect) was also successfully imaged using hyperpolarized [U-(13) C(6) , U-(2) H(7) ]-D-glucose, while the size of the preexisting lactate pool can be measured by (13) C MRS and/or MRI with hyperpolarized [1-(13) C]pyruvate. This review summarizes the application of various hyperpolarized (13) C-labeled metabolites to the real-time monitoring of glycolysis and related metabolic processes in normal and diseased tissues.