Validation of 13C NMR measurements of liver glycogen in vivo

The natural abundance 13C NMR intensity of the glycogen C1 resonance was measured in the surgically exposed liver of rabbits in vivo (n = 17) by integration from 98 to 104 ppm and compared double blindedly to the subsequent biochemical measurement. Coil loading was measured each time from a reference sphere at the coil center and the NMR intensity was normalized accordingly. For quantification, the normalized NMR intensity was calibrated using aqueous glycogen solutions ranging from 110 to 1100 μmol glucosyl units/g (n = 14). An in vivo range from 110 to 800 μmol glucosyl units/g wet weight was measured with a highly linear correlation with concentration (r = 0.85, P < 0.001). The in vivo NMR concentration was 0.95 ± 0.05 (mean ± standard error, n = 17) of the concomitant enzymatic measurement of glycogen content. We conclude that the 13C NMR signal of liver glycogen C1 is essentially 100% visible in vivo and that natural abundance 13C NMR spectroscopy can provide reliable noninvasive estimates of in vivo glycogen content over the physiological range of liver glycogen concentrations when using adequate localization and integration procedures.