Stereoselective analysis of 2-hydroxysebacic acid in urine of patients with Zellweger syndrome and of premature infants fed with medium-chain triglycerides

Acupuncture at Taichong and Zusanli points exerts hypotensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats by metabolomic analysis

BACKGROUND

The development of hypertension affects several target organs, the kidneys being one of them. Acupuncture has been used to treat hypertension for a long time. Several mechanisms of acupuncture on hypotensive effect have been reveled, while the effects of acupuncture on the alterations in renal cortex from a metabolomic perspective are still unclear.

METHODS

Twelve male Wistar rats served as the control group (Wistar Group). Twenty-four male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were randomly divided into two groups: the model group (SHR Group) and the acupuncture group (AC Group). In the AC Group, milli-needle acupuncture was used to puncture the bilateral Taichong (LR3) and Zusanli (ST36) points. Blood pressure values were measured weekly and the rats were euthanized after three weeks. Renal cortical tissues were collected for non-targeted and targeted metabolomic analyses.

RESULTS

Acupuncture reduced blood pressure values in rats (Compared with the SHR Group, P < 0.001). Thirteen metabolites with significant differences and three metabolic pathways were screened by untargeted metabolomics. The SHR Group was compared with the Wistar Group and AC Group both involving metabolites and pathways related to bile acid metabolism. Furthermore, targeted metabolomics quantification of four bile acids, Cholic acid (CA), Allocholic acid (ACA), Deoxycholic acid (DCA) and Chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), revealed that all bile acid concentrations were relatively high in the SHR Group, except for ACA.

CONCLUSION

This study indicate that abnormal bile acid metabolism may be an independent risk factor the development of hypertension. Acupuncture at Taichong and at Zusanli points effectively modulated bile acids metabolism in SHR renal cortex tissues to exert a hypotensive effect, and CA may be able to be a new target for the treatment of hypertension.

Distinct Metabolic Profile Associated with a Fatal Outcome in COVID-19 Patients during the Early Epidemic in Italy

In one year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many studies have described the different metabolic changes occurring in COVID-19 patients, linking these alterations to the disease severity. However, a complete metabolic signature of the most severe cases, especially those with a fatal outcome, is still missing. Our study retrospectively analyzes the metabolome profiles of 75 COVID-19 patients with moderate and severe symptoms admitted to Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (Lombardy Region, Italy) following SARS-CoV-2 infection between March and April 2020. Italy was the first Western country to experience COVID-19, and the Lombardy Region was the epicenter of the Italian COVID-19 pandemic. This cohort shows a higher mortality rate compared to others; therefore, it represents a unique opportunity to investigate the underlying metabolic profiles of the first COVID-19 patients in Italy and to identify the potential biomarkers related to the disease prognosis and fatal outcome. IMPORTANCE Understanding the metabolic alterations occurring during an infection is a key element for identifying potential indicators of the disease prognosis, which are fundamental for developing efficient diagnostic tools and offering the best therapeutic treatment to the patient. Here, exploiting high-throughput metabolomics data, we identified the first metabolic profile associated with a fatal outcome, not correlated with preexisting clinical conditions or the oxygen demand at the moment of diagnosis. Overall, our results contribute to a better understanding of COVID-19-related metabolic disruption and may represent a useful starting point for the identification of independent prognostic factors to be employed in therapeutic practice.

Amniotic fluid and urine metabolomic alterations associated with pregnant women with Down syndrome fetuses

BACKGROUND

Down syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by a third copy of all or part of chromosome 21. Clinical observations and preclinical studies both suggest that DS may be associated with significant metabolic and bioenergetic alterations. But the metabolic alterations in pregnant women carrying DS fetuses still remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the characteristic metabolomics and lipidomics changes during fetal development of DS.

METHODS

The AF and random urine specimens were selected from 20 pregnant women carrying DS fetuses and 20 pregnant women carrying healthy fetuses. The diagnosis of DS was screened according to chromosome karyotype analysis, and untargeted metabolomic and lipidomic analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Through the analyses of AF, 308 differential metabolites were selected between DS and controls. The metabolites with significant changes mainly involved lipid molecules, organic acids, nucleotides and carbon. Further analysis of lipidomics showed 64 differential metabolites, mainly involving glycerides, sphingolipids and glycerolipids. As for urine metabolomic and lipidomic analyses, there existed consistent metabolites with AF, but the number was much less.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with the controls, carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism, glyceride metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism were significantly changed in DS cases. In addition, characterized biomarkers in AF and urine were screened for DS diagnosis, and these metabolites were mainly involved in energy metabolism and liver dysfunction. This finding may help improve the efficiency of prenatal screening for DS.

Deep Metabolomics of a High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Triple-Knockout Mouse Model

High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most common and deadliest ovarian cancer (OC) type, accounting for 70-80% of OC deaths. This high mortality is largely due to late diagnosis. Early detection is thus crucial to reduce mortality, yet the tumor pathogenesis of HGSC remains poorly understood, making early detection exceedingly difficult. Faithfully and reliably representing the clinical nature of human HGSC, a recently developed triple-knockout (TKO) mouse model offers a unique opportunity to examine the entire disease spectrum of HGSC. Metabolic alterations were investigated by applying ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) to serum samples collected from these mice at premalignant, early, and advanced stages of HGSC. This comprehensive analysis revealed a panel of 29 serum metabolites that distinguished mice with HGSC from controls and mice with uterine tumors with over 95% accuracy. Meanwhile, our panel could further distinguish early-stage HGSC from controls with 100% accuracy and from advanced-stage HGSC with over 90% accuracy. Important identified metabolites included phospholipids, sphingomyelins, sterols, N-acyltaurine, oligopeptides, bilirubin, 2(3)-hydroxysebacic acids, uridine, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and pyrazine derivatives. Overall, our study provides insights into dysregulated metabolism associated with HGSC development and progression, and serves as a useful guide toward early detection.

Measurement of Urinary d- and l-2-Hydroxyglutarate Enantiomers by Stable-Isotope-Dilution Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry after Derivatization with Diacetyl-l-Tartaric Anhydride

Background: The differential diagnosis of d-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (d-2-HGA), l-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (l-2-HGA), and the combined d/l-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (d/l-2-HGA) can be accomplished only by the measurement of the corresponding 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG). Available methods for the determination of d- and l-2-HG in urine are either time-consuming and expensive or have not been extensively validated. We aimed to develop a method for their rapid and sensitive measurement.

Methods: We used liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the determination of d- and l-2-HG with stable-isotope-labeled internal standards. Urine samples of 20 μL were mixed with 250 μL of methanol containing the internal standards and subsequently dried under nitrogen. The analytes were derivatized by use of diacetyl-l-tartaric anhydride (DATAN) to obtain diastereomers, which were separated on an achiral C18 HPLC column and detected by MS/MS in multiple-reaction-monitoring mode.

Results: The use of DATAN as chiral derivatization reagent provided very well separated peaks of the formed diastereomers of d- and l-2-HG, with a total runtime of 5 min. The inter- and intraassay CVs for d- and l-2-HG ranged from 3.4% to 6.2%. Mean recoveries of d- and l-2-HG, evaluated on two concentrations, were 94%. Detection limit of the presented method was 20 pmol for a sample volume of 20 μL. Method comparison of the LC-MS/MS method with a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method, in which d- and l-2-HG were derivatized with R-(−)-butanol, showed good agreement between the two methods.

Conclusions: Urinary d- and l-2-HG can be analyzed by MS/MS after derivatization with DATAN. The presented method may be suitable for the differential diagnosis of 2-HGA.