Figure 1.

The prostate exhibits a unique truncated TCA cycle that supports massive citrate production. A) Current working model of the prostate's truncated TCA cycle. Citrate is massively produced by prostate epithelial cells and secreted into the seminal fluid; this is a well-known phenotype associated with fertility. Several nutrients could fuel the prostate TCA cycle, including glucose, fatty acids, glutamate, and aspartate. It is currently assumed that glucose and aspartate are the major carbon sources required for citrate production and secretion. (B–G) Targeted metabolomics of TCA cycle intermediates and lactate in various mouse tissues. Results are shown as the average ± SEM of two independent experiments comprising organs from seven mice. Results are shown for the prostate (yellow) and other organs (blue) in μmol/g of tissues. BAT: Brown adipose tissue. Additional metabolites quantified are available in Supplemental Figure S1.