Fig. 8
Schematic representation of the metabolic profile of early pulmonary branching morphogenesis. The metabolites detected in the extracellular medium (blue labeling) can either be consumed (glucose) or produced (alanine, lactate, and acetate) by the lung tissue. The symbols refer to increase (↑) or decrease (↓) in the metabolites, considering their particular fate. Temporal metabolite changes are accompanied by variations in the expression of glut1, glut3, glut8, hk1, pfk1, mct1, mct8, ldha, ldhb, pdha, and pdhb. Decreased LDHA and increased LDHB protein levels may contribute to the observed increase in the extracellular levels of lactate. OXPHOS is active with mitochondria displaying a constant rate of oxygen consumption. The symbols refer to: does not contribute to lactate transport (*); oxidative phosphorylation is active (✓)