Metabolic Insights and Therapeutic Strategies in Hematologic Disorders

A Special Issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989) belonging to the section "Cell Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 682

Editor


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Guest Editor
1. University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
2. German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Dresden and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Interests: myelodysplastic neoplasms; clonal hematopoiesis; metabolomics; microbiome; inflammation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the understanding of cellular metabolism has emerged as a cornerstone in deciphering the pathophysiology of hematologic disorders. Aberrant metabolic pathways critically influence the behavior of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, the tumor microenvironment, and immune regulation, thereby shaping disease onset, progression, and therapeutic response. Metabolic reprogramming, encompassing altered glycolysis, mitochondrial function, lipid metabolism, and redox homeostasis, has been recognized not only as a hallmark of malignant hematologic diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma but also as a key player in non-malignant conditions including anemia, hemoglobinopathies, and bone marrow failure syndromes.

This Special Issue, Metabolic Insights and Therapeutic Strategies in Hematologic Disorders, will provide a platform for integrating basic, translational, and clinical research that explores the metabolic underpinnings of hematologic diseases. We invite contributions that elucidate metabolic pathways driving disease pathogenesis, identify metabolic biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis, and highlight novel metabolism-targeted therapeutic strategies. Studies employing cutting-edge technologies, such as metabolomics, single-cell analysis, and systems biology approaches, are particularly encouraged, along with studies that bridge metabolic research with pharmacological innovation and clinical outcomes.

By uniting multidisciplinary perspectives, this Special Issue will advance our understanding of how metabolic alterations can be leveraged for precision medicine in hematology. Ultimately, our goal is to foster the development of innovative, metabolism-based interventions that improve patient care and transform the therapeutic landscape of hematologic disorders.

Dr. Ekaterina Balaian
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • hematological malignancies
  • leukemia
  • lymphoma
  • metabolomics
  • drug resistance
  • tumor biology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2833 KB  
Article
Systemic Metabolic Changes in Plasma of Patients with Myelodysplastic Neoplasms and Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia
by Ekaterina Balaian, Iryna Kovtun, Fabian Springer, Denise Medeiros Selegato, Sophie Jonas, Uta Oelschlaegel, Manja Wobus, Michael Wulfert, Corinna Strupp, Ulrich Germing, Michael Zimmermann, Martin Bornhäuser, Triantafyllos Chavakis, Katja Sockel and Alexander Funk
Metabolites 2026, 16(9), 648; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo16090648 - 4 Sep 2026
Viewed by 290
Abstract
Background: Myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDSs) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders associated with ineffective hematopoiesis, chronic inflammation, and increased cardiovascular morbidity. Although metabolic dysregulation has been implicated in MDS pathogenesis, systemic metabolic alterations remain incompletely characterized. Methods: Plasma samples from treatment-naïve patients with MDS [...] Read more.
Background: Myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDSs) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders associated with ineffective hematopoiesis, chronic inflammation, and increased cardiovascular morbidity. Although metabolic dysregulation has been implicated in MDS pathogenesis, systemic metabolic alterations remain incompletely characterized. Methods: Plasma samples from treatment-naïve patients with MDS or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and age-matched healthy controls were analyzed using quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Metabolomic profiles were compared using unsupervised and supervised multivariate analyses, validated in an independent external MDS cohort, and integrated with re-analysis of publicly available RNA-sequencing datasets from purified CD14+ CMML monocytes. Results: Patients with MDS and CMML exhibited broad reductions in circulating lipoprotein-associated metabolites, including HDL-, LDL-, IDL-, and apolipoprotein-associated fractions, indicating disturbed systemic lipoprotein homeostasis. Within the discovery cohort, CMML samples showed higher concentrations of the ketone bodies 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate, as well as succinate. LC-MS analysis demonstrated selective increases in C18:1 acylcarnitine, oleic and isopalmitic acids, whereas free carnitine abundance remained unchanged. Elevated 3-hydroxybutyrate levels were not associated with mutational burden, hematologic parameters, disease risk, or immunophenotypic features. Re-analysis of public CMML monocyte transcriptomes demonstrated increased expression of genes involved in lipid uptake and intracellular lipid trafficking, including FABP5, APOE, LPL, and SLC27A2, without coordinated activation of fatty acid oxidation pathways. External cohort analysis confirmed the overall MDS-associated plasma metabolomic profile. Conclusions: MDSs and CMML are associated with reproducible alterations in systemic lipid metabolism characterized by reduced circulating lipoprotein-associated metabolites, while CMML showed more pronounced ketone body- and acylcarnitine-associated metabolic phenotype accompanied by changes in lipid-handling transcriptional programs. These findings support altered systemic lipid metabolism and carnitine-dependent fatty acid handling as characteristic features of myeloid neoplasms and provide a rationale for future functional studies investigating lipid metabolism in disease pathogenesis. Full article
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