# Establishing translational neuroimaging tools for quantitative assessment of energy metabolism and metabolic reprogramming in healthy and diseased human brain at 7T

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $604,582

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cellular energy metabolism is a fundamental process of life that produces biochemical energy in the form of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to support neuronal activity and brain function. Glucose and oxygen are the
main energy substrates of the brain and are metabolized through glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and
oxidative phosphorylation pathways, constituting a neuroenergetic network that effectively regulates ATP
production and homeostasis. ATP production and homeostasis are affected when brain states change, as
signs of altered cerebral glucose and oxidative metabolism are commonly seen in aging, neurodegenerative
diseases, psychiatric disorders, stroke and cancer. Despite the important roles of brain energy metabolism,
metabolic alteration and reprogramming in health and disease, noninvasive neuroimaging tools capable of
mapping and quantifying key features of neuroenergetic network in the human brain are still lacking.
Over the past two decades, we have developed three ultrahigh-field (UHF) metabolic imaging techniques
based on deuterium-2 (2H), oxygen-17 (17O), and phosphorus-31 (31P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy
(MRSI) imaging capable of noninvasive and quantitative assessment of brain energy metabolism along major
metabolic pathways. However, X-nuclear MRSI-based methods face severe challenges in translational
applications due to low detection sensitivity and metabolite content, and prolonged scanning time.
This project aims to develop and integrate multiple cutting-edge technologies to build next generation high-
resolution, high-performance and translatable neuroimaging tools on an FDA-approved 7 Tesla clinical scanner
for quantitatively imaging key metabolic rates and other essential neurophysiological parameters related to
energy metabolism in healthy and diseased human brains. Three pilot studies are proposed to test and
demonstrate the utility and feasibility of the novel neuro-metabolic imaging tools to quantitatively study
neuroenergetics and metabolic reprogramming in brain activation, aging processes and brain tumors, aiming to
understand their critical roles in brain function and disease. This project leverages the interdisciplinary
expertise of an outstanding team leading in the research field, excellent imaging facilities and resources, and
close collaboration among team members. The advanced neuroimaging tools established by this project is
expected to have significant impact on changing the paradigm of neurometabolic imaging and energy
metabolism research, and enable translational studies of human brain bioenergetics and metabolic
reprogramming under physiopathological conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10848494
- **Project number:** 5R01NS133006-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Wei Chen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $604,582
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-06-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10848494

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10848494, Establishing translational neuroimaging tools for quantitative assessment of energy metabolism and metabolic reprogramming in healthy and diseased human brain at 7T (5R01NS133006-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10848494. Licensed CC0.

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