7T 1H MRS of human soleus muscle, showing the accumulation of acetylcarnitine after calf-raise exercise and its decay during the post-exercise recovery.
|
|||||||||
Jimin Ren, Ph.D.
Research Overview
Skeletal muscle MRS is a fascinating research area integrated with biochemistry, exercise physiology and NMR physics. Working with Drs. Craig Malloy and A Dean
Sherry, I currently study carbohydrate and fat metabolism of human skeletal muscle via 1H and 13C MRS at 7T. My recent research has focused on
acetyl carnitine, a critical intermediate coupled with Co-enzyme A in the TCA cycle, to investigate how much and from what source it is generated, how quickly these
reactions occur, and to which end-products it is consumed. Exercise and administration of metabolic substrates are used in our studies to answer particular questions
about metabolic pathways and the rate of the TCA cycle turnover. This, together with the measurement of other important muscle metabolites, such as intramyocellular
lipids (IMCL), creatine, glycogen, carbon dioxide, bicarbonate and lactate, will help us understand the normal muscle physiology and pathology as it relates to
metabolic disorders such as mitochondria myopathy, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity and McArdle’s diseases. In addition, I am also interested in
developing and applying CEST (Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer) methods to detect metabolites in vivo.
Contact email: jimin.ren@utsouthwestern.edu
Research Interests
| Skeletal muscle metabolism | Exercise, aging and development of metabolic diseases |
| 1H and 13C MR spectroscopy | In vivo CEST effect |