The use of metabolomics in medicine – some examples of oncological and metabolic diseases

Abstract

Metabolomics is a new field of medicine focused on examining and analyzing metabolites produced in biological cells. Biological fluids primarily used in this method include: plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva and urine. The most common methods of evaluating the composition involve nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance (MR) with addition of gas chromatography (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography (LC-MS). Metabolomics is used in a wide variety of medicine disciplines. The variability of biochemical processes in tumor cells in comparison to normal cells is the starting point of such studies. The metabolomic changes are observed not only in solid tumors, like the mammary tumor, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer but also in tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues. Nowadays, the aim of studies is to find biomarkers which would help to diagnose a disease quickly, assess its progression, and implement effective treatment. Metabolomics is also widely applied in metabolic diseases, mainly the diabetes. The list of examined metabolites gives promising chances for a successful prognosis, diagnosis and comprehensive monitoring of the progression of this civilization disease. The development of metabolomics will also contribute to the individualization of treatment, proper drugs adjustment, which will make a therapy more successful, cause less side effects and improve the quality of patient's life.

Metabolomics study of the hepatoprotective effect of total flavonoids of Mallotus apelta leaf in carbon tetrachloride‐induced liver fibrosis in rats

“…Currently, the most commonly used analytical methods in metabolomics are nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H-NMR), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These methods, combined with multivariate statistical analysis techniques for pattern recognition, enable the identification of complex metabolic profile differences in biological systems and the discovery of potential biomarkers (Zimny et al, 2015). While NMR spectroscopy may have lower sensitivity and limited metabolite coverage compared with mass spectrometry, it offers advantages such as broad detection capability, ease of quantification and annotation of spectral features.…”

Urine metabolomics study of Bushen Huoxue Prescription on diabetic retinopathy rats by UPLC–Q‐exactive Orbitrap–MS

“…Regarding DR, vitreous and serum samples are the main tissues studied (Liew et al, ). A variety of analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance, have become powerful tools for metabolomics research (Wei et al, ; Zimny et al, ). Ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q‐exactive quadrupole–electrostatic field Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC–Q‐exactive Orbitrap–MS) has the advantages of high resolution, good quality stability, high sensitivity and fast speed in complex matrix, which is a good option for metabolite analysis of TCM.…”

“…Regarding DR, vitreous and serum samples are the main tissues studied (Liew et al, 2017). A variety of analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance, have become powerful tools for metabolomics research Zimny et al, 2015).…”