Increase of GPC Levels in Cultured Mammalian Cells during Acidosis. A ³¹P MR Spectroscopy Study Using a Continuous Bioreactor System

The purpose of this study was to study the metabolic events during a slow acidosis in three different cell lines by combining ³¹P magnetic resonance spectroscopy and hollow fiber bioreactor technology. The rate of change in intracellular pH, glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC), phophorylcholine (PCho), and nucleoside‐triphosphate (NTP) levels were measured during 8 h of acidosis and 16 h of recovery in EPO, EAT, and RN1a cells, three cultured mammalians cell lines. Our results show a significant increase in GPC levels to 330 ± 21, 540 ± 25, and 220 ± 21% of their initial value correlated to a decrease of PCho levels to 57 ± 14, 58 ± 17 and 45 ± 15% of their initial value in EAT, RN1a, and EPO cells, respectively. These changes are discussed in terms of perturbation of energetic metabolism in cells undergoing a slow acidosis.