A Targeted Metabolomics Assay to Measure Eight Purines in the Diet of Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Human Exposomics: Expanding Chemical Space Coverage

In the modern "omics" era, measurement of the human exposome is a critical missing link between genetic drivers and disease outcomes. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), routinely used in proteomics and metabolomics, has emerged as a leading technology to broadly profile chemical exposure agents and related biomolecules for accurate mass measurement, high sensitivity, rapid data acquisition, and increased resolution of chemical space. Non-targeted approaches are increasingly accessible, supporting a shift from conventional hypothesis-driven, quantitation-centric targeted analyses toward data-driven, hypothesis-generating chemical exposome-wide profiling. However, HRMS-based exposomics encounters unique challenges. New analytical and computational infrastructures are needed to expand the analysis coverage through streamlined, scalable, and harmonized workflows and data pipelines that permit longitudinal chemical exposome tracking, retrospective validation, and multi-omics integration for meaningful health-oriented inferences. In this article, we survey the literature on state-of-the-art HRMS-based technologies, review current analytical workflows and informatic pipelines, and provide an up-to-date reference on exposomic approaches for chemists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, care providers, and stakeholders in health sciences and medicine. We propose efforts to benchmark fit-for-purpose platforms for expanding coverage of chemical space, including gas/liquid chromatography-HRMS (GC-HRMS and LC-HRMS), and discuss opportunities, challenges, and strategies to advance the burgeoning field of the exposome.

Animal models of naturally occurring stone disease

The prevalence of urolithiasis in humans is increasing worldwide; however, non-surgical treatment and prevention options remain limited despite decades of investigation. Most existing laboratory animal models for urolithiasis rely on highly artificial methods of stone induction and, as a result, might not be fully applicable to the study of natural stone initiation and growth. Animal models that naturally and spontaneously form uroliths are an underused resource in the study of human stone disease and offer many potential opportunities for improving insight into stone pathogenesis. These models include domestic dogs and cats, as well as a variety of other captive and wild species, such as otters, dolphins and ferrets, that form calcium oxalate, struvite, uric acid, cystine and other stone types. Improved collaboration between urologists, basic scientists and veterinarians is warranted to further our understanding of how stones form and to consider possible new preventive and therapeutic treatment options.

XANTHINE NEPHROLITHIASIS IN JUVENILE CAPTIVE GIANT OTTERS (PTERONURA BRASILIENSIS)

Nephrolithiasis has been reported in several aquatic mammals including bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), small clawed otters (Amblonyx cinereus), European river otters (Lutra lutra), North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Compositions of calculi in previous cases were predominantly calcium oxalate or ammonium acid urate. Xanthine urolithiasis is rare in veterinary medicine. Primary cases (without exposure to xanthine dehydrogenase inhibitors) occur as a consequence of hereditary xanthinuria, although the causal mutation has only been discovered in a subset of cases. Five captive juvenile giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) from two facilities were diagnosed with nephrolithiasis: three siblings from one set of parents and two siblings from another pair. Serum analyte assays revealed renal compromise in affected individuals. Computed tomography (CT) confirmed the presence of nephrolithiasis in one individual. Postmortem evaluation identified extensive bilateral nephrolithiasis on gross necropsy in four of five cases. Calculus analyses identified 100% xanthine composition. Histologic examination revealed marked nephrolithiasis with associated tubular necrosis and gastric mineralization. Nutrient composition of the diet including mineral and purine content was assessed. No association between diet and nephroliths was found in this study. This is the first report of xanthine nephrolithiasis in aquatic mammals. The potential role of diet and genetics in xanthine nephrolithiasis in the small inbred population of giant otters under human care needs further investigation to assess the implications of this disease process for the long-term captive management of this species.

Comparison of potential dietary and urinary risk factors for ammonium urate nephrolithiasis in two bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus) populations

Dietary and urinary risk factors have been implicated in conditions favoring ammonium urate nephrolithiasis in managed dolphins compared with free-ranging dolphins. In this study, urine samples were collected from 16 dolphins (8 cases, 8 controls) from the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program for the purposes of assessing changes in urinary biomarkers after a large meal. Urinary biomarkers and nephrolithiasis presence were assessed opportunistically in 15 long-term resident free-ranging dolphins living in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Additionally, the total purine contents of fish commonly consumed by each dolphin population were measured to evaluate potential dietary risk factors. Populations were compared for total dietary purine composition, recently fed status, nephrolithiasis presence, and differences in urinary biochemical, acid-base, and physicochemical parameters via Wilcoxon rank sum analysis and least square means. Managed dolphins had higher urinary pH and ammonium ([Formula: see text]) in both pre- and postprandial conditions and higher urinary uric acid and saturation indices of NH₄U in the postprandial condition compared with free-ranging dolphins ( P < 0.05). The purine content was greater ( P < 0.0001) in the diet consumed by managed dolphins [7 mmol/Mcal metabolizable energy (ME)] than in the free-ranging dolphin diet (4 mmol/Mcal ME). Free-ranging dolphins did not show evidence of nephrolithiasis. Observed differences in urinary biomarkers and dietary purine content in these two dolphin populations suggest a pathophysiologic basis for the role of fish types on the risk of NH₄U stone formation. Future research should investigate fish type and feeding frequency, inhibitors and promoters, and alkalinizing therapy for reducing NH₄U nephrolithiasis in dolphins.