METABOLIC ANALYSIS OF THE RABBIT CORNEA BY PROTON NUCLEAR-MAGNETIC-RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY

Perchloric acid extracts of the rabbit cornea were analyzed by high-re solution H-1 NMR spectroscopy, including the two-dimensional shift-cor related (COSY) technique. Numerous metabolites including leucine/isole ucine, 3-hydroxybutyrate, valine, lactate, alanine, lysine, acetate, g lutamate, creatine/ phosphocreatine, taurine, glycine, inositol, gluco se, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, adenosine and formate have bee n simultaneously detected and identified in the NMR spectra. Concentra tions of some of these were also determined. Of particular importance are the detection and identification of hypotaurine in the corneal tis sue. Hypotaurine is a precursor of the synthesis of taurine and may ac t as an antioxidant. Moreover, the presence of choline, a precursor fo r acetylcholine, was established. This novel metabolite profile of the cornea obtained by high-resolution H-1 NMR spectroscopy may be of val ue in the study of pathologic and toxic disorders.