Project description:The rapidly increasing number of engineered nanoparticles (NPs), and products containing NPs, raises concerns for human exposure and safety. With this increasing, and ever changing, catalogue of NPs it is becoming more difficult to adequately assess the toxic potential of new materials in a timely fashion. It is therefore important to develop methods which can provide high-throughput screening of biological responses. The use of omics technologies, including metabolomics, can play a vital role in this process by providing relatively fast, comprehensive, and cost-effective assessment of cellular responses. These techniques thus provide the opportunity to identify specific toxicity pathways and to generate hypotheses on how to reduce or abolish toxicity.We have used untargeted metabolome analysis to determine differentially expressed metabolites in human lung epithelial cells (A549) exposed to copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). Toxicity hypotheses were then generated based on the affected pathways, and critically tested using more conventional biochemical and cellular assays. CuO NPs induced regulation of metabolites involved in oxidative stress, hypertonic stress, and apoptosis. The involvement of oxidative stress was clarified more easily than apoptosis, which involved control experiments to confirm specific metabolites that could be used as standard markers for apoptosis; based on this we tentatively propose methylnicotinamide as a generic metabolic marker for apoptosis.Our findings are well aligned with the current literature on CuO NP toxicity. We thus believe that untargeted metabolomics profiling is a suitable tool for NP toxicity screening and hypothesis generation.
Project description:l-Carnitine is a candidate therapeutic for the treatment of septic shock, a condition that carries a ?40% mortality. Responsiveness to l-carnitine may hinge on unique metabolic profiles that are not evident from the clinical phenotype. To define these profiles, we performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of serum from 21 male sepsis patients enrolled in a placebo-controlled l-carnitine clinical trial. Although treatment with l-carnitine is known to induce changes in the sepsis metabolome, we found a distinct set of metabolites that differentiated 1-year survivors from nonsurvivors. Following feature alignment, we employed a new and innovative data reduction strategy followed by false discovery correction, and identified 63 metabolites that differentiated carnitine-treated 1-year survivors versus nonsurvivors. Following identification by MS/MS and database search, several metabolite markers of vascular inflammation were determined to be prominently elevated in the carnitine-treated nonsurvivor cohort, including fibrinopeptide A, allysine, and histamine. While preliminary, these results corroborate that metabolic profiles may be useful to differentiate l-carnitine treatment responsiveness. Furthermore, these data show that the metabolic signature of l-carnitine-treated nonsurvivors is associated with a severity of illness (e.g., vascular inflammation) that is not routinely clinically detected.
Project description:We and others previously showed that extracellular ATP (eATP) is implicated in epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the mechanisms by which eATP induces EMT and ATP's relationship to TGF-β, a well-known EMT inducer, are largely unclear. Also, eATP-induced EMT has never been studied at transcriptomic and metabolomics levels. Based on our previous studies, we hypothesized that eATP acts as a specific inducer and regulator of EMT at all levels in cancer cells. RNAseq and metabolomics analyses were performed on human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells treated with either eATP or TGF-β. Bio-functional assays, such as invasion, intracellular ATP, cell proliferation, cytoskeleton remodeling, and others were conducted in NSCLC A549 and H1299 cells to validate changes observed from RNAseq and metabolomics studies. In the RNAseq study, eATP significantly enriched expressions of genes involved in EMT similarly to TGF-β after 2 and 6 hours of treatment. Samples treated with eATP for 2 hours share 131 upregulated EMT genes with those of TGF-β treated samples, and 42 genes at 6 hours treatment. Eleven genes, with known or unknown functions in EMT, are significantly upregulated by both inducers at both time points, have been identified. BLOC1S6, one of the 11 genes, was selected for further study. eATP induced numerous EMT-related changes in metabolic pathways, including cytoskeleton rearrangement, glycolysis, glutaminolysis, ROS, and individual metabolic changes similar to those induced by TGF-β. Functional bioassays verified the findings from RNAseq and metabolomics that eATP EMT-like changes in A549 and H1299 cells similarly to TGF-β. BLOC1S6 was found to be implicated in EMT. In these studies, eATP-induced EMT, at all levels examined, is similar but non-identical to that induced by TGF-β, and functions in such a way that exogenous addition of TGF-β is unnecessary for the induction. The study of BLOC1S6 further verified its potential roles in EMT and the RNAseq analysis results. All these strongly indicate that eATP is a multi-functional and multi-locational inducer and regulator of EMT, changing our thinking on how EMT is induced and regulated and pointing to new directions for inhibiting EMT in cancer.
Project description:Thermal ablation is widely used in the treatment of lung cancer and is beneficial for the overall survival of patients in clinic. However, there is barely a priority in which ablation system should be chosen under different periods of tumor progression in lung cancer. The present study investigated different modes of thermal ablation systems in mice with transplanted Lewis lung carcinoma tumors and their various biological effects in local regions using untargeted metabolomics. The results showed that thermal ablation could significantly suppress tumor growth and the differentially expressed metabolites of tumors after ablation relative to untreated tumors concentrated on organic compounds, organic acids and derivatives, nucleosides, nucleotides, and lipids. The upregulated metabolites indicated an inflammatory reaction in the ablation groups at an early stage after ablation. Steroid hormone and tryptophan metabolism, which are associated with immune responses, were modulated after both cryoablation and hyperthermal ablation. Characteristically, the results also indicated that cryoablation suppressed glucose oxidation and carbohydrate metabolism of tumor, while hyperthermal ablation suppressed lipid metabolism of tumor. In conclusion, thermal ablation could inhibit tumor growth under either freezing or heating modes with characteristic different biological effects on tumors.
Project description:BackgroundTrichinellosis, caused by a parasitic nematode of the genus Trichinella, is a zoonosis that affects people worldwide. After ingesting raw meat containing Trichinella spp. larvae, patients show signs of myalgia, headaches, and facial and periorbital edema, and severe cases may die from myocarditis and heart failure. The molecular mechanisms of trichinellosis are unclear, and the sensitivity of the diagnostic methods used for this disease are unsatisfactory. Metabolomics is an excellent tool for studying disease progression and biomarkers; however, it has never been applied to trichinellosis. We aimed to elucidate the impacts of Trichinella infection on the host body and identify potential biomarkers using metabolomics.Methodology/principal findingsMice were infected with T. spiralis larvae, and sera were collected before and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after infection. Metabolites in the sera were extracted and identified using untargeted mass spectrometry. Metabolomic data were annotated via the XCMS online platform and analyzed with Metaboanalyst version 5.0. A total of 10,221 metabolomic features were identified, and the levels of 566, 330, and 418 features were significantly changed at 2-, 4-, and 8-weeks post-infection, respectively. The altered metabolites were used for further pathway analysis and biomarker selection. A major pathway affected by Trichinella infection was glycerophospholipid metabolism, and glycerophospholipids comprised the main metabolite class identified. Receiver operating characteristic revealed 244 molecules with diagnostic power for trichinellosis, with phosphatidylserines (PS) being the primary lipid class. Some lipid molecules, e.g., PS (18:0/19:0)[U] and PA (O-16:0/21:0), were not present in metabolome databases of humans and mice, thus they may have been secreted by the parasites.Conclusions/significanceOur study highlighted glycerophospholipid metabolism as the major pathway affected by trichinellosis, hence glycerophospholipid species are potential markers of trichinellosis. The findings of this study represent the initial steps in biomarker discovery that may benefit future trichinellosis diagnosis.
Project description:90% of esophageal cancer are esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and ESCC has a very poor prognosis and high mortality. Nevertheless, the key metabolic pathways associated with ESCC progression haven't been revealed yet. Metabolomics has become a new platform for biomarker discovery over recent years. We aim to elucidate dominantly metabolic pathway in all ESCC tumor/node/metastasis (TNM) stages and adjacent cancerous tissues. We collected 60 postoperative esophageal tissues and 15 normal tissues adjacent to the tumor, then performed Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses. The metabolites data was analyzed with metabolites differential and correlational expression heatmap according to stage I vs. con., stage I vs. stage II, stage II vs. stage III, and stage III vs. stage IV respectively. Metabolic pathways were acquired by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. (KEGG) pathway database. The metabolic pathway related genes were obtained via Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). mRNA expression of ESCC metabolic pathway genes was detected by two public datasets: gene expression data series (GSE)23400 and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis is applied to metabolic pathway genes. 712 metabolites were identified in total. Glycerophospholipid metabolism was significantly distinct in ESCC progression. 16 genes of 77 genes of glycerophospholipid metabolism mRNA expression has differential significance between ESCC and normal controls. Phosphatidylserine synthase 1 (PTDSS1) and Lysophosphatidylcholine Acyltransferase1 (LPCAT1) had a good diagnostic value with Area under the ROC Curve (AUC) > 0.9 using ROC analysis. In this study, we identified glycerophospholipid metabolism was associated with the ESCC tumorigenesis and progression. Glycerophospholipid metabolism could be a potential therapeutic target of ESCC progression.
Project description:Oncogene-associated metabolic signatures in prostate cancer, identified by an integrative analysis of cultured cells and murine and human tumors, suggest that AKT activation results in a glycolytic phenotype whereas MYC induces aberrant lipid metabolism. Heterogeneity in human tumors makes this simplistic interpretation obtained from experimental models more challenging. Metabolic reprogramming as a function of distinct molecular aberrations has major diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
Project description:Raspberries are becoming increasingly popular due to their reported health beneficial properties. Despite the presence of only trace amounts of anthocyanins, yellow varieties seems to show similar or better effects in comparison to conventional raspberries.The aim of this work is to characterize the metabolic differences between red and yellow berries, focussing on the compounds showing a higher concentration in yellow varieties.The metabolomic profile of 13 red and 12 yellow raspberries (of different varieties, locations and collection dates) was determined by UPLC-TOF-MS. A novel approach based on Pearson correlation on the extracted ion chromatograms was implemented to extract the pseudospectra of the most relevant biomarkers from high energy LC-MS runs. The raw data will be made publicly available on MetaboLights (MTBLS333).Among the metabolites showing higher concentration in yellow raspberries it was possible to identify a series of compounds showing a pseudospectrum similar to that of A-type procyanidin polymers. The annotation of this group of compounds was confirmed by specific MS/MS experiments and performing standard injections.In berries lacking anthocyanins the polyphenol metabolism might be shifted to the formation of a novel class of A-type procyanidin polymers.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Second generation antipsychotic (SGA) use in bipolar disorder is common and has proven effective in short-term trials. There continues to be a lack of understanding of the mechanisms underlying many of their positive and negative effects in bipolar disorder. This study aimed to describe the metabolite profiles of bipolar subjects treated with SGAs by comparing to metabolite profiles of bipolar subjects treated with lithium, and schizophrenia subjects treated with SGAs. METHODS:Cross-sectional, fasting untargeted serum metabolomic profiling was conducted in 82 subjects diagnosed with bipolar I disorder (n = 30 on SGAs and n = 32 on lithium) or schizophrenia (n = 20). Metabolomic profiles of bipolar subjects treated with SGAs were compared to bipolar subjects treated with lithium and schizophrenia subjects treated with SGAs using multivariate methods. RESULTS:Partial lease square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) plots showed separation between bipolar subjects treated with SGAs, bipolar subjects treated with lithium, or schizophrenia subjects treated with SGAs. Top influential metabolite features were associated with several pathways including that of polyunsaturated fatty acids, pyruvate, glucose, and branched chain amino acids. CONCLUSIONS:The findings from this study require further validation in pre- and posttreated bipolar and schizophrenia subjects, but suggest that the pharmacometabolome may be diagnosis specific.