Support for increased capacity to facilitate enhanced stable isotope resolved investigations of human metabolism in the biosciences'

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We have known for some time that our by changing the metabolism of the cells in our bodies, diet can directly influence how all of our organs work, and in doing so, affects our long-term health. We also know that the environment that we live in and the stimuli we are exposed to alters our metabolism. Indeed, we have made huge strides recently in characterising how our metabolism can change, as well as whether measurements of the levels of metabolites in our blood or cells can help clinicians make decisions on our health. However, many of the fine details of how exactly our metabolism changes and what this means for our health are unknown. To do this, we trace how nutrients are used in our bodies by enriching them in a naturally-occurring 'heavy' form of carbon or nitrogen, and then following them into different metabolites within cells. This allows us to determine which pathways the nutrients take, and whether changes in this are associated with different diet, age, or even temperature. The equipment that we are requesting in this proposal allows us to detect changes in specific metabolic pathways through identifying alterations in the incorporation of these heavy forms of carbon and nitrogen with very high sensitivity. As it is a very specialised research method, we interact with groups around the UK to support their studies of metabolism in diverse areas of biology, forming a highly collaborative network that benefits research throughout the UK.