Hypoxic and Complement-Induced Lung Injury in the Isolated Perfused Rat Lung as Determined by Phosphorous-31 Nuclear...

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive method of obtaining biochemical information. Patients or experimental animals are placed within a magnetic imaging device and specific patterns of chemical spectra, such as P31 patterns of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can be recorded. We have injured the isolated rat lung by complement activation and hypoxia. Nuclear magnetic resonance patterns of phosphate metabolites revealed markedly diminished lung concentrations of ATP and phosphocreatine. In vivo measurement of lung metabolism through MRS may be a useful tool to measure metabolism of severe lung disease in man.