Effects of hepatic impairment on the metabolism of fructose and 5-fluorouracil, as studied in fatty liver models using in vivo 31P-MRS and 19F-MRS

The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of hepatic impairment on the metabolism of fructose and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in fatty liver models using in vivo 31P-MRS and 19F-MRS and to compare the results. In addition, we compared the results to those of other conventional tests such as laboratory examinations, imaging and pathology. Male SIc:Wistar rats were examined on BEM170/200 (4.7 T, Otsuka Electronics, USA) with 17-mm diameter surface coil. Fatty liver was induced by a choline deficient diet (CD diet) for 2 weeks. 31P-MRS were obtained for 90 min after intravenous (i.v.) injection of 1 g/kg of fructose and 19F-MRS were measured for 100 min after i.v. injection of 100 mg/kg of 5-FU. 1H-MRS and 1H-MRI were also performed. On 31P-MRS, there was no statistical difference in the time course of phosphomonoester (PME), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and inorganic phosphate (Pi) between CD diet group and control group. On 19F-MRS, we detected high peak of fluoronucleotide (Fnct) and suppressed peak of alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine (FBAL) in CD diet group. We showed the metabolism of fructose and 5-FU by 31P-MRS and 19F-MRS, respectively. There was no difference in fructose metabolism but we observed increased fluoronucleotide and decreased a-fluoro-b-alanine in 5-FU metabolism of fatty liver. We speculate that the effects of hepatic impairment in fatty liver may be more severe on 5-FU metabolism and the increased fluoronucleotide may reflect cell proliferation.