Radioactive Measurements as an Indicator of Metabolic Fluxes in Myocytes

Physiological, pathological and pharmacological alterations in energetic substrate metabolism have been known to contribute to effective functioning of an organ. Hence, pharmacological interventions have been shown to improve clinical symptoms of certain pathologies, such as ischemic heart disease. In order to manipulate metabolism, however, one has to be able to correctly measure and know the contribution of a particular pathway to energy production. Many methods have been developed and adapted to a wide range of techniques. Radioactive substrates have been utilized for many laboratories with success. We adapted, from well established radioactive techniques, measurements for glycolysis and glucose oxidation in C2C12 myocytes. We believe that the technique is straightforward and allows the researcher to manipulate according to the needs of the laboratory.