C-13 NMR-STUDIES OF GLUCOSE-METABOLISM IN HUMAN LEUKEMIC CEM-C7 CELL AND CEM-C1 CELL

Glucose metabolism of human leukemic cell lines CEM‐C7 and CEM‐C1 was investigated in vivo by 13C NMR using 13C‐labeled glucose. Exact knowledge of glucose concentration, cell count, and cell viability of the cell suspensions made it possible to analyze glucose metabolism in detail. In both cell lines aerobic glycolysis accounts for virtually all glucose consumption. The use of D‐[13C2] glucose provided a simple method to measure the glucose flux through the pentose phosphate pathway as 9% (CEM‐C1) and 11% (CEM‐C7) of glucose channeled into glycolysis. The dexamethasone‐sensitive CEM‐C7 cells consume glucose at a rate about 50% higher than the dexamethasone‐resistant CEM‐CI cells. It is shown that this higher consumption correlates with a larger size of the CEM‐C7 cells. Therefore in CEM cells the development of drug resistance does not seem to involve related changes in cell energetics. © 1992 Academic Press, Inc. Copyright © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company