Altitude Hypoxia Increases Glucose Uptake in Human Heart

作者:Chen Chi Hsien; Liu Yuh Feng; Lee Shin Da; Huang Chih Yang; Lee Wen Chih; Tsai Ying Lan; Hou Chien Wen; Chan Yi Sheng; Kuo Chia Hua*
来源:High Altitude Medicine & Biology, 2009, 10(1): 83-86.
DOI:10.1089/ham.2008.1064

摘要

Chen, Chi-Hsien, Yuh-Feng Liu, Shin-Da Lee, Wen-Chih Lee, Ying-Lan Tsai, Chien-Wen Hou, Chih-Yang Huang, and Chia-Hua Kuo. Altitude hypoxia increases glucose uptake in human heart. High Alt. Med Biol. 10:83-86, 2009.-Cardiac muscle is a highly oxygenated tissue that produces ATP mainly from fat oxidation. However, when the rate of oxygen demand exceeds oxygen supply, energy reliance on the carbohydrate substrate becomes crucial for sustaining normal cardiac function. In this study, the effect of acute altitude hypoxia on glucose uptake from circulation was determined, for the first time, in the human heart, using [18F]-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in a simulated altitude condition (14% O(2), corresponding to similar to 3000 m above sea level) or room air (21% O(2)). Our results showed that subjects (n = 6) started to experience difficulty in sustaining the hypoxic condition at similar to 45 min. This was concurrent with a substantially increased blood lactate concentration, which reflects an accelerated rate of anaerobic glycolysis. Hypoxia elevated FDG uptake above control by similar to 70% in heart, but not in limbs (representing primarily skeletal muscle), brain, and liver. This study provides the first human evidence for the hypoxia-stimulated glucose uptake in heart. At this hypoxia level, the previously observed hypoxia-stimulated glucose uptake in rat skeletal muscle was not confirmed in the human study.