Direct assessment of hepatic mitochondrial oxidative and anaplerotic fluxes in humans using dynamic 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

There are currently a paucity of approaches for the direct in vivo assessment of rates of hepatic mitochondrial oxidation and anaplerotic flux in humans. With this in mind, Douglas Befroy and colleagues have developed a new 13C-labeling strategy that they use in combination with 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which should prove useful in determining the potential role of changes in hepatic mitochondrial fat oxidation in diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.