# Coordination of energy metabolism across individual tissues in mammals

> **NIH NIH R00** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2021 · $243,407

## Abstract

Project Summary
 What we eat may be the single most important determinant of our health. Yet, science-based dietary
recommendations remain, at best, generic and imperfect. One fundamental obstacle to more specific, tailored,
and reliable dietary guidance is our lack of understanding of what happens to food in our body. Underlying the
simple overall chemical reaction from dietary carbons to CO2 is diverse energy metabolism in individual tissues.
Tissues take their fuels from the bloodstream, which carries not only nutrients directly from digestion but also
metabolic intermediates released by tissues themselves. How do these circulatory nutrients contribute to
tissues as fuels? And by which tissues is each of the circulatory nutrients produced? In this proposal, I propose
to use in vivo isotopic tracing and quantitative modeling to systematically determine the tissue sinks and
sources of circulatory nutrients in mammals. In Aim 1, I will focus on tissues and quantify their fuel usage from
circulatory nutrients by tracing isotopic labeled nutrients into their TCA cycle. In Aim 2, I will focus on important
circulatory nutrients and quantify their tissue sources and sinks by an innovative approach of combining
isotopic tracer infusion and arteriovenous labeling difference measurements. Upon successful completion of
my proposed research, we will move closer to a holistic and quantitative understanding of the energy
metabolism in mammals. The work will lay the foundation for eventual improved understanding of the
relationship between diet and health. This proposal will also allow me to successfully transition to an
independent investigator.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10131793
- **Project number:** 5R00DK117066-04
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Sheng Hui
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $243,407
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10131793

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10131793, Coordination of energy metabolism across individual tissues in mammals (5R00DK117066-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10131793. Licensed CC0.

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