PubMed

Related Articles Identification of key metabolic changes during liver fibrosis progression in rats using a urine and serum metabolomics approach. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 12;7(1):11433 Authors: Chang H, Meng HY, Liu SM, Wang Y, Yang XX, Lu F, Wang HY Abstract Reversibility of hepatic fibrosis is an intrinsic response to chronic injury, and with on-going damage, fibrosis can progress to its end-stage consequence, cirrhosis. Non-invasive and reliable biomarkers for early detection of liver fibrosis are needed. Based on the CCl4-induced liver fibrosis rat model, urinary and serum metabolic profiling performed by LC-QTOF-MS associated with histological progression were utilized to identify liver fibrosis-specific potential biomarkers for early prediction and to reveal significant fibrotic pathways and their dynamic changes in different stages of liver fibrosis. Finally, nine differential metabolites in urine and ten in serum were selected and identified involving the most relevant metabolic pathways. Perturbations of tryptophan, valine, leucine, isoleucine, and citrate (TCA) cycle metabolites, along with sphingolipid and glycerophospholipid metabolites, occurred from the onset of liver fibrosis. Furthermore, dysregulation of valine and bile acid biosynthesis metabolites occurred in the intermediate and advanced stages. More importantly, among these metabolites, urinary kynurenic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetyl glycine, 4-(2-amino-3-hydroxyphenyl)-2,4-dioxobutanoic acid and serum sphinganine, sphingomyelin, L-leucine, L-tryptophan, and LysoPC(17:0) changed at all time points and may serve as potential early biomarkers for the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and as therapeutic targets. Overall, this work evaluates the potential of these metabolites for the early detection of liver fibrosis. PMID: 28900168 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Military training elicits marked increases in plasma metabolomic signatures of energy metabolism, lipolysis, fatty acid oxidation, and ketogenesis. Physiol Rep. 2017 Sep;5(17): Authors: Karl JP, Margolis LM, Murphy NE, Carrigan CT, Castellani JW, Madslien EH, Teien HK, Martini S, Montain SJ, Pasiakos SM Abstract Military training studies provide unique insight into metabolic responses to extreme physiologic stress induced by multiple stressor environments, and the impacts of nutrition in mediating these responses. Advances in metabolomics have provided new approaches for extending current understanding of factors modulating dynamic metabolic responses in these environments. In this study, whole-body metabolic responses to strenuous military training were explored in relation to energy balance and macronutrient intake by performing nontargeted global metabolite profiling on plasma collected from 25 male soldiers before and after completing a 4-day, 51-km cross-country ski march that produced high total daily energy expenditures (25.4 MJ/day [SD 2.3]) and severe energy deficits (13.6 MJ/day [SD 2.5]). Of 737 identified metabolites, 478 changed during the training. Increases in 88% of the free fatty acids and 91% of the acylcarnitines, and decreases in 88% of the mono- and diacylglycerols detected within lipid metabolism pathways were observed. Smaller increases in 75% of the tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, and 50% of the branched-chain amino acid metabolites detected were also observed. Changes in multiple metabolites related to lipid metabolism were correlated with body mass loss and energy balance, but not with energy and macronutrient intakes or energy expenditure. These findings are consistent with an increase in energy metabolism, lipolysis, fatty acid oxidation, ketogenesis, and branched-chain amino acid catabolism during strenuous military training. The magnitude of the energy deficit induced by undereating relative to high energy expenditure, rather than macronutrient intake, appeared to drive these changes, particularly within lipid metabolism pathways. PMID: 28899914 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Melaleuca quinquenervia essential oil inhibits α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced melanin production and oxidative stress in B16 melanoma cells. Phytomedicine. 2017 Oct 15;34:191-201 Authors: Chao WW, Su CC, Peng HY, Chou ST Abstract BACKGROUND: Essential oils are odorous, volatile products of plant secondary metabolism, which are found in many leaves and stems. They show important biological activities, which account for the development of aromatherapy used in complementary and alternative medicine. The essential oil extracted from Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake (paperbark) (MQ-EO) has various functional properties. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate the chemical composition of MQ-EO by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and evaluate its tyrosinase inhibitory activity. METHODS: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics was used to identify 18 components in MQ-EO. The main components identified were 1,8-cineole (21.60%), α-pinene (15.93%), viridiflorol (14.55%), and α-terpineol (13.73%). B16 melanoma cells were treated with α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the presence of various concentrations of MQ-EO or its major compounds. Cell viability was accessed by MTT assay and cellular tyrosinase activity and melanin content were determined by using spectrophotographic methods. The antioxidant mechanism of MQ-EO in α-MSH stimulated B16 cells was also investigated. RESULTS: In α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-stimulated murine B16 melanoma cells, MQ-EO, 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, and α-terpineol significantly reduced melanin content and tyrosinase activity. Moreover, MQ-EO, 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, and α-terpineol decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. In addition, restored glutathione (GSH) levels, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase activities were increased in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. MQ-EO not only decreased apoptosis but also reduced DNA damage in α-MSH stimulated B16 cells. These results showed that MQ-EO and its main components, 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, and α-terpineol, possessed potent anti-tyrosinase and anti-melanogenic activities besides the antioxidant properties. CONCLUSIONS: The active functional components of MQ-EO were found to be 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, and α-terpineol. Consequently, the results of present study suggest that MQ-EO is non-cytotoxic and can be used as a skin-whitening agent, both medically and cosmetically. PMID: 28899502 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Mixomics analysis of Bacillus subtilis: effect of oxygen availability on riboflavin production. Microb Cell Fact. 2017 Sep 12;16(1):150 Authors: Hu J, Lei P, Mohsin A, Liu X, Huang M, Li L, Hu J, Hang H, Zhuang Y, Guo M Abstract BACKGROUND: Riboflavin, an intermediate of primary metabolism, is one kind of important food additive with high economic value. The microbial cell factory Bacillus subtilis has already been proven to possess significant importance for the food industry and have become one of the most widely used riboflavin-producing strains. In the practical fermentation processes, a sharp decrease in riboflavin production is encountered along with a decrease in the dissolved oxygen (DO) tension. Influence of this oxygen availability on riboflavin biosynthesis through carbon central metabolic pathways in B. subtilis is unknown so far. Therefore the unveiled effective metabolic pathways were still an unaccomplished task till present research work. RESULTS: In this paper, the microscopic regulation mechanisms of B. subtilis grown under different dissolved oxygen tensions were studied by integrating (13)C metabolic flux analysis, metabolomics and transcriptomics. It was revealed that the glucose metabolic flux through pentose phosphate (PP) pathway was lower as being confirmed by smaller pool sizes of metabolites in PP pathway and lower expression amount of ykgB at transcriptional level. The latter encodes 6-phosphogluconolactonase (6-PGL) under low DO tension. In response to low DO tension in broth, the glucose metabolic flux through Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway was higher and the gene, alsS, encoding for acetolactate synthase was significantly activated that may result due to lower ATP concentration and higher NADH/NAD(+) ratio. Moreover, ResE, a membrane-anchored protein that is capable of oxygen regulated phosphorylase activity, and ResD, a regulatory protein that can be phosphorylated and dephosphorylated by ResE, were considered as DO tension sensor and transcriptional regulator respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that integration of transcriptomics, (13)C metabolic flux analysis and metabolomics analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of biosynthesized riboflavin's regulatory mechanisms in B. subtilis grown under different dissolved oxygen tension conditions. The two-component system, ResD-ResE, was considered as the signal receiver of DO tension and gene regulator that led to differences between biomass and riboflavin production after triggering the shifts in gene expression, metabolic flux distributions and metabolite pool sizes. PMID: 28899391 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Investigation of Dioscorea bulbifera rhizome-induced hepatotoxicity in rats by a multi-sample integrated metabolomics approach. Chem Res Toxicol. 2017 Sep 13;: Authors: Zhao DS, Jiang LL, Fan YX, Wang LL, Li ZQ, Shi W, Li P, Li HJ Abstract The use of herbal medicines continues to expand globally, meanwhile, herb-associated hepatotoxicity is becoming a safety issue. Dioscorea bulbifera rhizome (DBR), a traditionally used medicinal plant in China, is reported to induce hepatotoxicity. However, the precise molecular mechanism involved has not been comprehensively explored. The objectives of the present study were to profile entire endogenous metabolites in a biological system and provide additional insight into the molecular mechanism of the hepatotoxicity induced by DBR using a multi-sample integrated metabolomics strategy. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with multivariate analysis was employed to discover differentiating metabolites in metabolomics data of rat plasma, urine, and feces. In total, 55 metabolites distributed in 33 metabolic pathways were identified as being significantly altered in DBR-treated rats. Correlation network analysis revealed that the hub metabolites of hepatotoxicity were mainly associated with amino acid, bile acid, purine, pyrimidine, lipid, and energy metabolism. As such, DBR affected the physiological and biological functions of liver via the regulation of multiple metabolic pathways to an abnormal state. Notably, our findings also demonstrated that the multi-sample integrated metabolomics strategy has a great potential for identifying more biomarkers and pathways to unravel the mechanistic complexity of toxicity of traditional Chinese medicine. PMID: 28899093 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles From the Cover: Metabolomics Reveals a Role of Betaine in Prenatal DBP Exposure-Induced Epigenetic Transgenerational Failure of Spermatogenesis in Rats. Toxicol Sci. 2017 Aug 01;158(2):356-366 Authors: Yuan B, Wu W, Chen M, Gu H, Tang Q, Guo D, Chen T, Chen Y, Lu C, Song L, Xia Y, Chen D, Rehan VK, Sha J, Wang X Abstract There is increasing concern that early-life exposure to endocrine disruptors affects male offspring reproduction. However, whether di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), a widely used endocrine disruptor, has transgenerational effects and, if so, the exact underlying molecular mechanisms involved remain unknown. In our study, 5 of time-mated pregnant SD rats were exposed to 0 and 500 mg/kg DBP with corn oil as the vehicle via oral gavage from embryonic days (E8-E14). Epigenetic and metabolomic of testis were analyzed after post-natal 60 days. Sperm and testicular cell functions were examined to confirm the transgenerational effects. DBP exposure significantly decreased the sperm counts in F1 through F3 generation. We found distinct metabolic changes in the testis of both F1 and F3 generation offspring, specifically, a significantly increased level of betaine, which is an important methyl donor. In contrast, the expression of betaine homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT), which catalyzes the transfer of methyl moiety from betaine to homocysteine, significantly decreased. There was accompanying global DNA hypomethylation, along with a reduction in follistatin-like 3 (Fstl3) promoter hypomethylation, which is a known modulator of Sertoli cell number and spermatogenesis. In summary, we conclude that metabolomic and epigenetic changes induced by the aberrant expression of BHMT represent a novel mechanism linking in utero DBP exposure to transgenerational spermatogenesis failure. PMID: 28898977 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Immunophenotyping of Stage III Melanoma Reveals Parameters Associated with Patient Prognosis. J Invest Dermatol. 2016 May;136(5):994-1001 Authors: Jacquelot N, Roberti MP, Enot DP, Rusakiewicz S, Semeraro M, Jégou S, Flores C, Chen L, Kwon BS, Borg C, Weide B, Aubin F, Dalle S, Kohrt H, Ayyoub M, Kroemer G, Marabelle A, Cavalcanti A, Eggermont A, Zitvogel L Abstract Stage III metastatic melanomas require adequate adjuvant immunotherapy to prevent relapses. Prognostic factors are awaited to optimize the clinical management of these patients. The magnitude of metastatic lymph node invasion and the BRAF(V600) activating mutation have clinical significance. Based on a comprehensive immunophenotyping of 252 parameters per patient in paired blood and metastatic lymph nodes performed in 39 metastatic melanomas, we found that blood markers were as contributive as tumor-infiltrated lymphocyte immunotypes, and parameters associated with lymphocyte exhaustion/suppression showed higher clinical significance than those related to activation or lineage. High frequencies of CD45RA(+)CD4(+) and CD3(-)CD56(-) tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes appear to be independent prognostic factors of short progression-free survival. High NKG2D expression on CD8(+)tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes, low level of regulatory T-cell tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes, and low PD-L1 expression on circulating T cells were retained in the multivariate Cox analysis model to predict prolonged overall survival. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether such immunological markers may guide adjuvant therapies in stage III metastatic melanomas. PMID: 26829031 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles SERUM METABOLIC FINGERPRINTING IDENTIFIED PUTATIVELY ANNOTATED SPHINGANINE ISOMER AS A BIOMARKER OF WOLFRAM SYNDROME. J Proteome Res. 2017 Sep 12;: Authors: Zmyslowska A, Ciborowski M, Borowiec M, Fendler W, Pietrowska K, Parfieniuk E, Antosik K, Pyziak A, Waszczykowska A, Kretowski A, Mlynarski W Abstract Wolfram syndrome (WFS) is an example of a rare neurodegenerative disease with coexisting endocrine symptoms including diabetes mellitus as the first clinical symptom. Treatment of WFS is still only symptomatic and associated with poor prognosis. Potential markers of disease progression which could be useful for possible intervention trials are not available. Metabolomics has potential to identify such markers. In the present study serum fingerprinting by LC-QTOF-MS was performed in patients with WFS (n=13) and in patients with T1D (n=27). Based on obtained results aminoheptadecanediol (17:0 sphinganine isomer) (+50%, p=0.02), as the most discriminatory metabolite, was selected for validation. The 17:0 sphinganine isomer level was determined using the LC-QQQ method in the samples from WFS patients at two time points and compared with samples obtained from patients with T1D (n=24) and healthy controls (n=24). Validation analysis showed higher 17:0 sphinganine isomer level in patients with WFS compared to patients with T1D (p=0.0097) and control group (p<0.0001) with progressive reduction of its level after two-year follow-up period. Patients with WFS show a unique serum metabolic fingerprint, differentiating them from patients with T1D. Sphinganine derivate seems to be a marker of the ongoing process of neurodegeneration in WFS patients. PMID: 28895401 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles ExSTA: External Standard Addition Method for Accurate High-throughput Quantitation in Targeted Proteomics Experiments. Proteomics Clin Appl. 2017 Sep 11;: Authors: Mohammed Y, Pan J, Zhang S, Han J, Borchers CH Abstract PURPOSE: Targeted proteomics using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) with stable-isotope-labeled internal-standard (SIS) peptides is the current method of choice for protein quantitation in complex biological matrices. Better quantitation can be achieved with the internal standard-addition method, where successive increments of synthesized natural form (NAT) of the endogenous analyte are added to each sample, a response curve is generated, and the endogenous concentration is determined at the x-intercept. Internal NAT-addition, however, requires multiple analyses of each sample, resulting in increased sample consumption and analysis time. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We used an MRM assay for 34 high-to-moderate abundance human plasma proteins to compare three methods: classical internal SIS-addition, internal NAT-addition, and external NAT-addition - generated in buffer using NAT and SIS peptides. We also evaluated the accuracy using endogenous-free chicken plasma. RESULTS: The internal NAT-addition outperformed the other two in precision and accuracy. However, the curves derived by internal vs. external NAT-addition differed by only ∼3.8% in slope, providing comparable accuracies and precision with good CV values. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: While the internal NAT-addition method may be "ideal", our new external NAT-addition can be used to determine the concentration of high-to-moderate abundance endogenous plasma proteins, providing a robust and cost-effective alternative for clinical analyses or other high-throughput applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. PMID: 28895300 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles The use of (1) H-NMR Metabolomics to Optimise the Extraction and Preliminary Identification of Anthelmintic Products from the Leaves of Lysiloma latisiliquum. Phytochem Anal. 2017 Sep 12;: Authors: Hernández-Bolio GI, Kutzner E, Eisenreich W, de Jesús Torres-Acosta JF, Peña-Rodríguez LM Abstract INTRODUCTION: Tannin-rich forages are recognised as an important alternative for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes in small ruminants. Lysiloma latisiliquum, a forage commonly consumed by goats and sheep, has shown anthelmintic activity when tested against Haemonchus contortus. However, to date, the metabolites responsible for the activity are not known. OBJECTIVE: To use (1) H-NMR metabolomics in the extraction and identification of anthelmintic metabolites from L. latisiliquum. METHODOLOGY: Eight different solvent systems were compared for the optimum extraction of anthelmintic metabolites from L. latisiliquum. (1) H-NMR spectra of the tannin-free extracts were measured in methanol-d4 using trimethylsilylpropanoic acid (TSP) as internal standard. Extracts were also evaluated for their anthelmintic activity using the larval exsheathment inhibition assay against H. contortus. These data were correlated by multivariate analysis [principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA)] and analysed. To validate the results obtained after the OPLS-DA, a bioassay-guided isolation of bioactive metabolites was conducted. RESULTS: The PCA of the (1) H-NMR data allowed the identification of hydrophilic solvents as those best suited for the extraction of anthelmintics from L. latisiliquum and indicated that the bioactive metabolites are high-polarity, glycosylated products. Similarly, OPLS-DA of the data enabled the detection of activity-related signals, assigned to the glycosylated metabolites quercitrin and arbutin obtained from the bioassay-guided purification of the extract. CONCLUSION: The results of this investigation confirm metabolomics as a useful tool in the detection of bioactive metabolites in plants without previous phytochemical studies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 28895238 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles Metabolic Alterations in Two Cirsium Species Identified at Distinct Phenological Stages using UPLC-QTOF/MS. Phytochem Anal. 2017 Sep 12;: Authors: Kim MS, Nam M, Hwang GS Abstract INTRODUCTION: Cirsium chanroenicum and C. setidens are commonly used both in traditional folk medicine and as a food source. The quality of different species of Cirsium at different harvest times is a function of their metabolite composition, which is determined by the phenological stage. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the differences in the metabolite composition of two species of Cirsium during different phenological stages using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS). METHODOLOGY: Cirsium chanroenicum and C. setidens plants were collected at the floral budding and full flowering stages. Metabolic profiles of Cirsium extracts were determined using UPLC-QTOF/MS to characterise the differences between phenological stages, and the major metabolites were quantified using UPLC-QTOF/MS-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). RESULTS: At the full flowering stage, the levels of phenolic acids as well as components of the phenylpropanoid pathway were increased. Flavonoids predominated at the full flowering stage in both species. The levels of coumaric acid, kaempferol, and pectolinarigenin differed between the two species of Cirsium. Overall, these results suggest that components of the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway are upregulated in the full flowering stage in Cirsium, although we did observe some variation between the species. CONCLUSION: These results will help elucidate the metabolic pathways related to the different phases of the vegetative cycle, and may help determine the optimal season for the harvest of Cirsium with the highest levels of bioactive compounds. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 28895216 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles A GC-MS untargeted metabolomics analysis in the plasma and liver of rats lacking dipeptidyl-peptidase type IV enzyme activity. J Physiol Biochem. 2017 Sep 11;: Authors: Murgia A, Caboni P, Cadoni E, Serra M, Marongiu F, Laconi E Abstract This study was achieved with the aim to find metabolic changes between Fischer rats with different dipeptidyl peptidase-type 4 (DPPIV) expression. The DPPIV is an enzyme expressed in several tissues and is critically involved in the regulation of meal-related insulin secretion in healthy individuals. The metabolic consequences of chronic DPPIV inhibition were analyzed in a surrogate animal model of genetic enzyme deficiency. Hyphenated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and multivariate data analysis techniques were used to study the metabolic aqueous fraction profile of 18 plasma and liver samples in two syngeneic rat strains differing in DPPIV activity (DPPIV(+) vs. DPPIV(-)). The hyperglycemic response following oral glucose administration was attenuated in DPPIV(-) rats, as expected. Statistical significant differences between the two strains were observed among the low molecular weight polar metabolites analyzed from plasma and liver.These included a decrease in malic acid and glutamine and an increase in pyroglutamic acid, serine, and alanine in plasma of DPPIV(-) rats. In addition, palmitic acid, L-proline, and ribitol were decreased in the liver of DPPIV(-) strain. Such alterations were compatible with a normal phenotype. These results suggest that long-term exposure to DPPIV inhibitors looks compatible with an overall balanced metabolism. PMID: 28895067 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles Treatment Effects of Ischemic Stroke by Berberine, Baicalin, and Jasminoidin from Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction (HLJDD) Explored by an Integrated Metabolomics Approach. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:9848594 Authors: Zhang Q, Fu X, Wang J, Yang M, Kong L Abstract Berberine, baicalin, and jasminoidin were major active ingredients of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction (HLJDD), a famous prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has been used for the treatment of ischemic stroke. The aim of the present study was to classify their roles in the treatment effects of ischemic stroke. A rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was constructed to mimic ischemic stroke and treatment effects of berberine, baicalin, and jasminoidin, and HLJDD was assessed by neurologic deficit scoring, infarct volume, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, biochemistry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blotting. In addition, the (1)H NMR metabolomics approach was used to assess the metabolic profiles, which combined with correlation network analysis successfully revealed metabolic disorders in ischemic stroke concerning the treatment of the three principal compounds from HLJDD for the first time. The combined results suggested that berberine, baicalin, and jasminoidin are responsible for the effectiveness of HLJDD on the treatment of ischemic stroke by amelioration of abnormal metabolism and regulation of oxidative stress, neuron autophagy, and inflammatory response. This integrated metabolomics approach showed its potential in understanding the function of complex formulae and clarifying the role of its components in the overall treatment effects. PMID: 28894512 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Effects of Combined Low Glutathione with Mild Oxidative and Low Phosphorus Stress on the Metabolism of Arabidopsis thaliana. Front Plant Sci. 2017;8:1464 Authors: Fukushima A, Iwasa M, Nakabayashi R, Kobayashi M, Nishizawa T, Okazaki Y, Saito K, Kusano M Abstract Plants possess highly sensitive mechanisms that monitor environmental stress levels for a dose-dependent fine-tuning of their growth and development. Differences in plant responses to severe and mild abiotic stresses have been recognized. Although many studies have revealed that glutathione can contribute to plant tolerance to various environmental stresses, little is known about the relationship between glutathione and mild abiotic stress, especially the effect of stress-induced altered glutathione levels on the metabolism. Here, we applied a systems biology approach to identify key pathways involved in the gene-to-metabolite networks perturbed by low glutathione content under mild abiotic stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. We used glutathione synthesis mutants (cad2-1 and pad2-1) and plants overexpressing the gene encoding γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase, the first enzyme of the glutathione biosynthetic pathway. The plants were exposed to two mild stress conditions-oxidative stress elicited by methyl viologen and stress induced by the limited availability of phosphate. We observed that the mutants and transgenic plants showed similar shoot growth as that of the wild-type plants under mild abiotic stress. We then selected the synthesis mutants and performed multi-platform metabolomics and microarray experiments to evaluate the possible effects on the overall metabolome and the transcriptome. As a common oxidative stress response, several flavonoids that we assessed showed overaccumulation, whereas the mild phosphate stress resulted in increased levels of specific kaempferol- and quercetin-glycosides. Remarkably, in addition to a significant increased level of sugar, osmolytes, and lipids as mild oxidative stress-responsive metabolites, short-chain aliphatic glucosinolates over-accumulated in the mutants, whereas the level of long-chain aliphatic glucosinolates and specific lipids decreased. Coordinated gene expressions related to glucosinolate and flavonoid biosynthesis also supported the metabolite responses in the pad2-1 mutant. Our results suggest that glutathione synthesis mutants accelerate transcriptional regulatory networks to control the biosynthetic pathways involved in glutathione-independent scavenging metabolites, and that they might reconfigure the metabolic networks in primary and secondary metabolism, including lipids, glucosinolates, and flavonoids. This work provides a basis for the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in the metabolic and transcriptional regulatory networks in response to combined low glutathione content with mild oxidative and nutrient stress in A. thaliana. PMID: 28894456 [PubMed]

Related Articles A novel swine model for evaluation of dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis induced by human CETP overexpression. Lipids Health Dis. 2017 Sep 11;16(1):169 Authors: Chen T, Sun M, Wang JQ, Cui JJ, Liu ZH, Yu B Abstract BACKGROUND: The mechanism of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) in lipid metabolism is still unclear. Furthermore, the relationship of CETP and atherosclerosis (AS) has been controversial. As pigs are a good model for both lipid and AS research, we investigated the lipid metabolism of human CETP (hCETP) transgenic pigs and explored the mechanism of CETP in lipid modulation. METHODS: Plasmids expressing the hCETP gene were designed, successfully constructed, and transfected into porcine fetal fibroblasts by liposomes. Using somatic cell nuclear transfer technology and embryonic transfer, hCETP transgenic pigs were generated. After the DNA, RNA, and protein levels were identified, positive hCETP transgenic pigs were selected. Blood samples were collected at different ages to evaluate the phenotypes of biochemical markers, and the metabolomes of plasma samples were analyzed by liquid mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Eight positive hCETP transgenic pigs and five negative cloned pigs were generated by transgenic technology. Finally, five hCETP transgenic and five cloned pigs were grown healthily. After feeding with a normal diet, hCETP transgenic pigs compared with unmodified pigs had no significant differences in body weight, liver function, kidney function, or plasma ions, while total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein were higher than in unmodified pigs, and high-density lipoprotein was significantly decreased. Metabolomics analysis showed that there were differences in metabolic components between hCETP transgenic pigs, cloned pigs, and unmodified pigs. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we created hCETP transgenic pigs that could serve as an excellent model for lipid disorders and atherosclerosis. PMID: 28893253 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Integrated application of transcriptomics and metabolomics provides insights into glycogen content regulation in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. BMC Genomics. 2017 Sep 11;18(1):713 Authors: Li B, Song K, Meng J, Li L, Zhang G Abstract BACKGROUND: The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas is an important marine fishery resource, which contains high levels of glycogen that contributes to the flavor and the quality of the oyster. However, little is known about the molecular and chemical mechanisms underlying glycogen content differences in Pacific oysters. Using a homogeneous cultured Pacific oyster family, we explored these regulatory networks at the level of the metabolome and the transcriptome. RESULTS: Oysters with the highest and lowest natural glycogen content were selected for differential transcriptome and metabolome analysis. We identified 1888 differentially-expressed genes, seventy-five differentially-abundant metabolites, which are part of twenty-seven signaling pathways that were enriched using an integrated analysis of the interaction between the differentially-expressed genes and the differentially-abundant metabolites. Based on these results, we found that a high expression of carnitine O-palmitoyltransferase 2 (CPT2), indicative of increased fatty acid degradation, is associated with a lower glycogen content. Together, a high level of expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), and high levels of glucogenic amino acids likely underlie the increased glycogen production in high-glycogen oysters. In addition, the higher levels of the glycolytic enzymes hexokinase (HK) and pyruvate kinase (PK), as well as of the TCA cycle enzymes malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and pyruvate carboxylase (PYC), imply that there is a concomitant up-regulation of energy metabolism in high-glycogen oysters. High-glycogen oysters also appeared to have an increased ability to cope with stress, since the levels of the antioxidant glutathione peroxidase enzyme 5 (GPX5) gene were also increased. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that amino acids and free fatty acids are closely related to glycogen content in oysters. In addition, oysters with a high glycogen content have a greater energy production capacity and a greater ability to cope with stress. These findings will not only provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying oyster quality, but also promote research into the molecular breeding of oysters. PMID: 28893177 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles Protocol for Standardizing High-to-Moderate Abundance Protein Biomarker Assessments Through an MRM-with-Standard-Peptides Quantitative Approach. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;919:515-530 Authors: Percy AJ, Yang J, Chambers AG, Mohammed Y, Miliotis T, Borchers CH Abstract Quantitative mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches are emerging as a core technology for addressing health-related queries in systems biology and in the biomedical and clinical fields. In several 'omics disciplines (proteomics included), an approach centered on selected or multiple reaction monitoring (SRM or MRM)-MS with stable isotope-labeled standards (SIS), at the protein or peptide level, has emerged as the most precise technique for quantifying and screening putative analytes in biological samples. To enable the widespread use of MRM-based protein quantitation for disease biomarker assessment studies and its ultimate acceptance for clinical analysis, the technique must be standardized to facilitate precise and accurate protein quantitation. To that end, we have developed a number of kits for assessing method/platform performance, as well as for screening proposed candidate protein biomarkers in various human biofluids. Collectively, these kits utilize a bottom-up LC-MS methodology with SIS peptides as internal standards and quantify proteins using regression analysis of standard curves. This chapter details the methodology used to quantify 192 plasma proteins of high-to-moderate abundance (covers a 6 order of magnitude range from 31 mg/mL for albumin to 18 ng/mL for peroxidredoxin-2), and a 21-protein subset thereof. We also describe the application of this method to patient samples for biomarker discovery and verification studies. Additionally, we introduce our recently developed Qualis-SIS software, which is used to expedite the analysis and assessment of protein quantitation data in control and patient samples. PMID: 27975233 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Changes in cellular glycosylation of leukemia cells upon treatment with acridone derivatives yield insight into drug action. Proteomics. 2016 Dec;16(23):2977-2988 Authors: Wang Y, Park D, Galermo AG, Gao D, Liu H, Lebrilla CB Abstract A new acridone derivative 2-aminoacetamido-10-(3, 5-dimethoxy)-benzyl-9(10H)-acridone hydrochloride (8a) has been shown to have potent antitumor activity. In order to understand the underlying action mechanism of 8a, three compounds of the same class with structures optimized step-by-step, 9(10H)-acridone (A), 10-(3,5-dimethoxy) benzyl-9(10H)-acridone (I) and 8a, were exposed to CCRF-CEM leukemia cell to determine the N-glycosylation changes using the microfluidic HPLC-chip-TOF MS platform. N-Glycans from whole cell lysates (WCL) and cell membranes (CM) were analyzed using isomer-sensitive chip-based porous graphitized carbon nano-LC/MS. A total of 223 N-glycan compositions and 398 N-glycan compounds were identified. Comparison of the two analyses showed that more apparent changes were observed in the CM compared with WCL, suggesting that CM may be a more sensitive indicator of changes in glycosylation. Upon 8a exposure to CCRF-CEM cells, a significant decrease in high-mannose-type glycans was observed. Different expressions of oligosaccharyltransferase subunits appear to play a key functional role in regulating the hypoglycosylation and contribute to the action mechanism of 8a. Taken together our findings suggest that glycosylation is strongly affected by therapeutic potency and can be used as possible biomarkers for monitoring toxicity and antitumor activity of 8a. PMID: 27717196 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Early Embryogenesis of Brown Alga Fucus vesiculosus L. is Characterized by Significant Changes in Carbon and Energy Metabolism. Molecules. 2017 Sep 09;22(9): Authors: Tarakhovskaya E, Lemesheva V, Bilova T, Birkemeyer C Abstract Brown algae have an important role in marine environments. With respect to their broad distribution and importance for the environment and human use, brown algae of the order Fucales in particular became a model system for physiological and ecological studies. Thus, several fucoids have been extensively studied for their composition on the molecular level. However, research of fucoid physiology and biochemistry so far mostly focused on the adult algae, so a holistic view on the development of these organisms, including the crucial first life stages, is still missing. Therefore, we employed non-targeted metabolite profiling by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry to create a non-biased picture of the early development of the fucoid alga Fucus vesiculosus. We found that embryogenic physiology was mainly dominated by a tight regulation of carbon and energy metabolism. The first dramatic changes of zygote metabolism started within 1 h after fertilization, while metabolism of 6-9 days old embryos appeared already close to that of an adult alga, indicated by the intensive production of secondary metabolites and accumulation of mannitol and citric acid. Given the comprehensive description and analysis we obtained in our experiments, our results exhibit an invaluable resource for the design of further experiments related to physiology of early algal development. PMID: 28891948 [PubMed - in process]

Glycosylated cell surface markers for the isolation of human cardiac progenitors. Stem Cells Dev. 2017 Sep 11;: Authors: Moerkamp AT, Leung HW, Bax NAM, Holst S, Lodder K, Berends T, Dingenouts CKE, Choo ABH, Smits AM, Goumans MJ Abstract The aim of stem cell therapy after cardiac injury is to replace damaged cardiac tissue. Human cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) represent an interesting cell population for clinical strategies to treat cardiac disease and human CPC-specific antibodies would aid in the clinical implementation of cardiac progenitor based cell therapy. However, the field of CPC biology suffers from the lack of human CPC-specific markers. Therefore, we raised a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against CPCs Of this panel of antibodies, we show that mAb C1096 recognizes a progenitor-like population in the fetal and adult human heart and partially co-localize with reported CPC populations in vitro. Furthermore, mAb C1096 can be used to isolate a multipotent progenitor population from human heart tissue. Interestingly, the two lead candidates, mAb C1096 and mAb C19, recognize glycosylated residues on PECAM1 and GRP78, respectively, and de-N-glycosylation significantly abolishes their binding. Thereby, this report describes new clinical applicable antibodies against human CPCs, and for the first time demonstrates the importance of glycosylated residues as CPCs specific markers. PMID: 28891400 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]