Preclinical and Clinical Application of Metabolomics in Medicine

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology and Drug Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 9118

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Biomic_AUTh, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balkan Center, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Rd, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: systems biology; bioinformatics; biostatistics; data analysis; molecular genetics; biochemistry; metabolomics and medicine
1. School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Greece & Biomic_AUTh, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balkan Center, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Rd., 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: LC-MS/MS; GC-MS and NMR metabolic profiling; biochemical interpretation of metabolomics data; designing and carrying out procedures on rodents
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metabolomics encompasses the comprehensive analysis of small molecules, revealing a biochemical snapshot of living organisms in a wide range of fields.

In preclinical studies, in vitro, in vivo, ex vivo, and in silico models, metabolomics is used for a wide spectrum of applications such as the discovery of biomarkers of pathophysiological conditions or the evaluation of the efficacy or toxicity of a therapeutic approach.

In clinical studies, metabolomics can offer novel panels of prognostic and diagnostic disease biomarkers, as well as personalized quantitative results of treatment response to medications, which are highly sought after in medicine.

Metabolic profiling in clinical practice has proven challenging so far, and has yet to reach its foretold potential. Recent advances in the utilization of animal models and machine learning could be valuable in navigating the turbulent waters of metabolomics.

This Special Issue of Metabolites will publish reviews and original articles covering the latest developments in biomarker discovery in preclinical and clinical research, obtained via the application of state-of-the-art metabolomics-based analytical methods.

Dr. Eleftherios Panteris
Dr. Olga Deda
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • metabolomics
  • metabolic profiling
  • lipidomics
  • biomarker discovery
  • personalized medicine
  • precision medicine
  • animal models
  • machine learning
  • analytical techniques

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2491 KiB  
Article
Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Purine Intermediary Metabolism Indicates Cyanide Induces Purine Catabolism in Rabbits
by Jordan Morningstar, Jangwoen Lee, Sari Mahon, Matthew Brenner and Anjali K. Nath
Metabolites 2024, 14(5), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14050279 - 10 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1306
Abstract
Purines are the building blocks of DNA/RNA, energy substrates, and cofactors. Purine metabolites, including ATP, GTP, NADH, and coenzyme A, are essential molecules in diverse biological processes such as energy metabolism, signal transduction, and enzyme activity. When purine levels increase, excess purines are [...] Read more.
Purines are the building blocks of DNA/RNA, energy substrates, and cofactors. Purine metabolites, including ATP, GTP, NADH, and coenzyme A, are essential molecules in diverse biological processes such as energy metabolism, signal transduction, and enzyme activity. When purine levels increase, excess purines are either recycled to synthesize purine metabolites or catabolized to the end product uric acid. Purine catabolism increases during states of low oxygen tension (hypoxia and ischemia), but this metabolic pathway is incompletely understood in the context of histotoxic hypoxia (i.e., inhibition of oxygen utilization despite normal oxygen tension). In rabbits exposed to cyanide—a classical histotoxic hypoxia agent—we demonstrated significant increases in several concordant metabolites in the purine catabolic pathway (including plasma levels of uric acid, xanthosine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, and inosine) via mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling. Pharmacological inhibition of the purine catabolic pathway with oxypurinol mitigated the deleterious effects of cyanide on skeletal muscle cytochrome c oxidase redox state, measured by non-invasive diffuse optical spectroscopy. Finally, plasma uric acid levels correlated strongly with those of lactic acid, an established clinical biomarker of cyanide exposure, in addition to a tissue biomarker of cyanide exposure (skeletal muscle cytochrome c oxidase redox state). Cumulatively, these findings not only shed light on the in vivo role(s) of cyanide but also have implications in the field of medical countermeasure (MCM) development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preclinical and Clinical Application of Metabolomics in Medicine)
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13 pages, 2104 KiB  
Article
Metabolomic Profiling of Second-Trimester Amniotic Fluid for Predicting Preterm Delivery: Insights from NMR Analysis
by Charalampos Kolvatzis, Paris Christodoulou, Ioannis Kalogiannidis, Konstantinos Tsiantas, Ioannis Tsakiridis, Charikleia Kyrkou, Antigoni Cheilari, Nikolaos S. Thomaidis, Panagiotis Zoumpoulakis, Apostolos Athanasiadis and Alexandra-Maria Michaelidou
Metabolites 2023, 13(11), 1147; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13111147 - 12 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1828
Abstract
Preterm delivery (PTD) is a notable pregnancy complication, affecting one out of every ten births. This study set out to investigate whether analyzing the metabolic composition of amniotic fluid (AF) collected from pregnant women during the second trimester of pregnancy could offer valuable [...] Read more.
Preterm delivery (PTD) is a notable pregnancy complication, affecting one out of every ten births. This study set out to investigate whether analyzing the metabolic composition of amniotic fluid (AF) collected from pregnant women during the second trimester of pregnancy could offer valuable insights into prematurity. The research employed 1H–NMR metabolomics to examine AF samples obtained from 17 women who gave birth prematurely (between 29+0 and 36+5 weeks of gestation) and 43 women who delivered at full term. The application of multivariate analysis revealed metabolites (dimethylglycine, glucose, myo-inositol, and succinate) that can serve as possible biomarkers for the prognosis and early diagnosis of preterm delivery. Additionally, pathway analysis unveiled the most critical metabolic pathways relevant to our research hypothesis. In summary, these findings suggest that the metabolic composition of AF in the second trimester can be a potential indicator for identifying biomarkers associated with the risk of PTD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preclinical and Clinical Application of Metabolomics in Medicine)
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Review

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19 pages, 1443 KiB  
Review
Integrative Multiomics Approach to Skin: The Sinergy between Individualised Medicine and Futuristic Precision Skin Care?
by Angelica Dessì, Roberta Pintus, Vassilios Fanos and Alice Bosco
Metabolites 2024, 14(3), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14030157 - 7 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2435
Abstract
The skin is a complex ecosystem colonized by millions of microorganisms, the skin microbiota, which are crucial in regulating not only the physiological functions of the skin but also the metabolic changes underlying the onset of skin diseases. The high microbial colonization together [...] Read more.
The skin is a complex ecosystem colonized by millions of microorganisms, the skin microbiota, which are crucial in regulating not only the physiological functions of the skin but also the metabolic changes underlying the onset of skin diseases. The high microbial colonization together with a low diversity at the phylum level and a high diversity at the species level of the skin is very similar to that of the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, there is an important communication pathway along the gut–brain–skin axis, especially associated with the modulation of neurotransmitters by the microbiota. Therefore, it is evident that the high complexity of the skin system, due not only to the genetics of the host but also to the interaction of the host with resident microbes and between microbe and microbe, requires a multi-omics approach to be deeply understood. Therefore, an integrated analysis, with high-throughput technologies, of the consequences of microbial interaction with the host through the study of gene expression (genomics and metagenomics), transcription (transcriptomics and meta-transcriptomics), and protein production (proteomics and meta-proteomics) and metabolite formation (metabolomics and lipidomics) would be useful. Although to date very few studies have integrated skin metabolomics data with at least one other ‘omics’ technology, in the future, this approach will be able to provide simple and fast tests that can be routinely applied in both clinical and cosmetic settings for the identification of numerous skin diseases and conditions. It will also be possible to create large archives of multi-omics data that can predict individual responses to pharmacological treatments and the efficacy of different cosmetic products on individual subjects by means of specific allotypes, with a view to increasingly tailor-made medicine. In this review, after analyzing the complexity of the skin ecosystem, we have highlighted the usefulness of this emerging integrated omics approach for the analysis of skin problems, starting with one of the latest ‘omics’ sciences, metabolomics, which can photograph the expression of the genome during its interaction with the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preclinical and Clinical Application of Metabolomics in Medicine)
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14 pages, 723 KiB  
Review
Once upon a Time Oral Microbiota: A Cinderella or a Protagonist in Autism Spectrum Disorder?
by Michele Mussap, Paola Beretta, Elena Esposito and Vassilios Fanos
Metabolites 2023, 13(12), 1183; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13121183 - 5 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2529
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder evolving over the lifetime of individuals. The oral and gut microbial ecosystems are closely connected to each other and the brain and are potentially involved in neurodevelopmental diseases. This narrative review aims to identify all [...] Read more.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder evolving over the lifetime of individuals. The oral and gut microbial ecosystems are closely connected to each other and the brain and are potentially involved in neurodevelopmental diseases. This narrative review aims to identify all the available evidence emerging from observational studies focused on the role of the oral microbiome in ASD. A literature search was conducted using PubMed and the Cochrane Library for relevant studies published over the last ten years. Overall, in autistic children, the oral microbiota is marked by the abundance of several microbial species belonging to the Proteobacteria phylum and by the depletion of species belonging to the Bacteroidetes phylum. In mouse models, the oral microbiota is marked by the abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum. Oral dysbiosis in ASD induces changes in the human metabolome, with the overexpression of metabolites closely related to the pathogenesis of ASD, such as acetate, propionate, and indoles, together with the underexpression of butyrate, confirming the central role of tryptophan metabolism. The analysis of the literature evidences the close relationship between oral dysbiosis and autistic core symptoms; the rebuilding of the oral and gut ecosystems by probiotics may significantly contribute to mitigating the severity of ASD symptoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preclinical and Clinical Application of Metabolomics in Medicine)
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