Isotopic Labeling Studies Services

Isotope Labeling in Metabolomics

Metabolic labeling studies combine metabolomics and isotope tracing and reveal pathway flows by tracking the fate of stable isotopically labeled feedstock metabolites. In fact, GMet’s founding scientists are some of the first researchers to apply isotopic labeling to metabolomics in the 1990’s. Metabolite labeling studies are very familiar to the GMet team, and such studies require careful and specific design. Please reach out to us if you are interested in isotopic labeling services, and we can work with you on potential study designs.

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STABLE ISOTOPIC LABEL TRACING: Atomic isotopes such as 13C and 15N are stable (non-radioactive), and provide a diagnostic mass signature when incorporated into a metabolite. Shown in this figure is an example of one such experiment. By feeding cultured cells with 1,2-13C-glucose and tracking the fate of the labeled carbons into 3-phosphoglycerate, it is possible to generate a good estimate of the relative flow of carbon in glycolysis vs. the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). The relative proportion of carbon flow in these two closely linked pathways informs on key metabolic functions, such as cellular redox management, cellular commitment to new fatty acid and nucleotide biosynthesis, and the acute energy demands of the cell. The bar chart to the left shows the results: M+1 pyruvate indicates flow through the PPP (green pathway), while M+2 pyruvate indicates flow through glycolysis (blue pathway).

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