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Special Issue "Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics"

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A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Frontiers in Metabolomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2020) | Viewed by 11279

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Phil Whitfield

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Guest Editor

Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness IV3 5SQ, UK
Interests: lipidomics; lipid metabolism; metabolic diseases

Dr. David Watson

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Guest Editor

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow, UK
Interests: mass spectrometry; metabolomics; exercise; immunology; propolis

Dr. Nicholas J W Rattray

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Guest Editor

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Interests: metabolomics; mass spectrometry; biogerontology; colon cancer
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since its inaugural meeting in 2015, the Scottish Metabolomics Network Symposium has grown to become one of the largest metabolomics meetings in the UK, with average attendances of >100 attracting delegates from universities, research institutes, and industry.

The meeting showcases the breadth of metabolomics in Scotland. This year’s event will take place over three days, with a one-day workshop on data modelling and plenary lecture from Dr Tim Ebbels kicking the meeting off. Throughout the subsequent two days of talks, posting, and discussions, a diverse range of small molecule bioanalysis will be covered ranging from biomarker and cell-based metabolomics through to plant and nutrition, microbial, technological, and computational approaches, concluding with a plenary from Prof Roy Goodacre on aspects of large-scale phenotyping experiments.

Such experimental variety is testament to the dedication, development, progression, and adoption of metabolomics technologies in Scotland and bodes very well for the future.

This Special Issue of Metabolites will be open to selected papers from this conference , in addition to other works that fall within the scope of this issue from outside this meeting.

Dr. Phil Whitfield
Dr. David Watson
Dr. Nicholas J W Rattray
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Human health
Cancer metabolism
Biomarker research
Microbial metabolomics
Sports metabolism
Nutritional metabolomics
Lipidomics
Advantages in technology.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Decrease in Myelin-Associated Lipids Precedes Neuronal Loss and Glial Activation in the CNS of the Sandhoff Mouse as Determined by Metabolomics

Emmanuelle Lecommandeur

Maria Begoña Cachón-González

and

Metabolites 2021, 11(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11010018 - 30 Dec 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1590

Abstract

Sandhoff disease (SD) is a lysosomal disease caused by mutations in the gene coding for the β subunit of β-hexosaminidase, leading to deficiency in the enzymes β-hexosaminidase (HEX) A and B. SD is characterised by an accumulation of gangliosides and related glycolipids, mainly in the central nervous system, and progressive neurodegeneration. The underlying cellular mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration and the contribution of inflammation in SD remain undefined. The aim of the present study was to measure global changes in metabolism over time that might reveal novel molecular pathways of disease. We used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy to profile intact lipids and aqueous metabolites, respectively. We examined spinal cord and cerebrum from healthy and Hexb^−/− mice, a mouse model of SD, at ages one, two, three and four months. We report decreased concentrations in lipids typical of the myelin sheath, galactosylceramides and plasmalogen-phosphatidylethanolamines, suggesting that reduced synthesis of myelin lipids is an early event in the development of disease pathology. Reduction in neuronal density is progressive, as demonstrated by decreased concentrations of N-acetylaspartate and amino acid neurotransmitters. Finally, microglial activation, indicated by increased amounts of myo-inositol correlates closely with the late symptomatic phases of the disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics)

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Open AccessArticle

Temperate Propolis Has Anti-Inflammatory Effects and Is a Potent Inhibitor of Nitric Oxide Formation in Macrophages

and

Metabolites 2020, 10(10), 413; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10100413 - 14 Oct 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1927

Abstract

Previous research has shown that propolis has immunomodulatory activity. Extracts from two UK propolis samples were assessed for their anti-inflammatory activities by investigating their ability to alter the production of the cytokines: tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and IL-10 from mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages co-stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The propolis extracts suppressed the secretion of IL-1β and IL-6 with less effect on TNFα. In addition, propolis reduced the levels of nitric oxide formed by LPS-stimulated macrophages. Metabolomic profiling was carried out by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) on a ZIC-pHILIC column. LPS increased the levels of intermediates involved in nitric oxide biosynthesis; propolis lowered many of these. In addition, LPS produced an increase in itaconate and citrate, and propolis treatment increased itaconate still further while greatly reducing citrate levels. Moreover, LPS treatment increased levels of glutathione (GSH) and intermediates in its biosynthesis, while propolis treatment boosted these still further. In addition, propolis treatment greatly increased levels of uridine diphosphate (UDP)–sugar conjugates. Overall, the results showed that propolis extracts exert an anti-inflammatory effect by the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines and by the metabolic reprogramming of LPS activity in macrophages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics)

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Open AccessArticle

Running on Empty: A Metabolomics Approach to Investigating Changing Energy Metabolism during Fasted Exercise and Rest

and

Metabolites 2020, 10(10), 399; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10100399 - 08 Oct 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3631

Abstract

Understanding the metabolic processes in energy metabolism, particularly during fasted exercise, is a growing area of research. Previous work has focused on measuring metabolites pre and post exercise. This can provide information about the final state of energy metabolism in the participants, but it does not show how these processes vary during the exercise and any subsequent post-exercise period. To address this, the work described here took fasted participants and subjected them to an exercise and rest protocol under laboratory settings, which allowed for breath and blood sampling both pre, during and post exercise. Analysis of the data produced from both the physiological measurements and the untargeted metabolomics measurements showed clear switching between glycolytic and ketolytic metabolism, with the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data showing the separate stages of ketolytic metabolism, notably the transport, release and breakdown of long chain fatty acids. Several signals, putatively identified as short peptides, were observed to change in a pattern similar to that of the ketolytic metabolites. This work highlights the power of untargeted metabolomic methods as an investigative tool for exercise science, both to follow known processes in a more complete way and discover possible novel biomarkers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics)

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Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Sample Preparation Methods for Inter-Laboratory Metabolomics Investigation of Streptomyces lividans TK24

and

Metabolites 2020, 10(9), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10090379 - 22 Sep 2020

Viewed by 1606

Abstract

In the past two decades, metabolomics has proved to be a valuable tool with many potential applications in different areas of science. However, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed, particularly for multicenter studies. These challenges are mainly attributed to various sources of fluctuation and unwanted variations that can be introduced at pre-analytical, analytical, and/or post-analytical steps of any metabolomics experiment. Thus, this study aimed at using Streptomyces lividans TK24 as the model organism in a cross-laboratory experiment in Manchester and Leuven to evaluate the reproducibility of a standard sample preparation method, and determine the optimal sample format (cell extract or quenched biomass) required to preserve the metabolic profile of the cells during cross-lab sample transportation and storage. Principal component analysis (PCA) scores plot of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) data from both laboratories displayed clear growth-dependent clustering patterns which was in agreement with the Procrustes analysis findings. In addition, the data generated in Manchester displayed tight clustering of cell pellets (quenched biomass) and metabolite extracts, confirming the stability of both sample formats during the transportation and storage period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics)

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Open AccessArticle

Surviving Starvation: Proteomic and Lipidomic Profiling of Nutrient Deprivation in the Smallest Known Free-Living Eukaryote

Sarah F. Martin

Mary K. Doherty

Eliane Salvo-Chirnside

and

Metabolites 2020, 10(7), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10070273 - 03 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1983

Abstract

Marine phytoplankton, comprising cyanobacteria, micro- and pico-algae are key to photosynthesis, oxygen production and carbon assimilation on Earth. The unicellular green picoalga Ostreococcus tauri holds a key position at the base of the green lineage of plants, which makes it an interesting model organism. O. tauri has adapted to survive in low levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the open ocean and also during rapid changes in the levels of these nutrients in coastal waters. In this study, we have employed untargeted proteomic and lipidomic strategies to investigate the molecular responses of O. tauri to low-nitrogen and low-phosphorus environments. In the absence of external nitrogen, there was an elevation in the expression of ammonia and urea transporter proteins together with an accumulation of triglycerides. In phosphate-limiting conditions, the expression levels of phosphokinases and phosphate transporters were increased, indicating an attempt to maximise scavenging opportunities as opposed to energy conservation conditions. The production of betaine lipids was also elevated, highlighting a shift away from phospholipid metabolism. This finding was supported by the putative identification of betaine synthase in O. tauri. This work offers additional perspectives on the complex strategies that underpin the adaptive processes of the smallest known free-living eukaryote to alterations in environmental conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics)

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Special Issue "Scottish Metabolomics Network Annual Meeting—New Innovations in Metabolomics"

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