Integrative Molecular Phenotyping
INTEGRATIVE MOLECULAR
PHENOTYPING
WHEELOCK LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
WHEELOCK LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
WHEELOCK LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
WHEELOCK LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
WHEELOCK LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
WHEELOCK LABORATORY

PubMed

An update on blood-based biomarkers for non-Alzheimer neurodegenerative disorders.

Fri, 24/04/2020 - 15:00
An update on blood-based biomarkers for non-Alzheimer neurodegenerative disorders. Nat Rev Neurol. 2020 Apr 22;: Authors: Ashton NJ, Hye A, Rajkumar AP, Leuzy A, Snowden S, Suárez-Calvet M, Karikari TK, Schöll M, La Joie R, Rabinovici GD, Höglund K, Ballard C, Hortobágyi T, Svenningsson P, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Aarsland D Abstract Cerebrospinal fluid analyses and neuroimaging can identify the underlying pathophysiology at the earliest stage of some neurodegenerative disorders, but do not have the scalability needed for population screening. Therefore, a blood-based marker for such pathophysiology would have greater utility in a primary care setting and in eligibility screening for clinical trials. Rapid advances in ultra-sensitive assays have enabled the levels of pathological proteins to be measured in blood samples, but research has been predominantly focused on Alzheimer disease (AD). Nonetheless, proteins that were identified as potential blood-based biomarkers for AD, for example, amyloid-β, tau, phosphorylated tau and neurofilament light chain, are likely to be relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders that involve similar pathological processes and could also be useful for the differential diagnosis of clinical symptoms. This Review outlines the neuropathological, clinical, molecular imaging and cerebrospinal fluid features of the most common neurodegenerative disorders outside the AD continuum and gives an overview of the current status of blood-based biomarkers for these disorders. PMID: 32322100 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Multilevel omics for the discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for stroke.

Fri, 24/04/2020 - 15:00
Multilevel omics for the discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for stroke. Nat Rev Neurol. 2020 Apr 22;: Authors: Montaner J, Ramiro L, Simats A, Tiedt S, Makris K, Jickling GC, Debette S, Sanchez JC, Bustamante A Abstract Despite many years of research, no biomarkers for stroke are available to use in clinical practice. Progress in high-throughput technologies has provided new opportunities to understand the pathophysiology of this complex disease, and these studies have generated large amounts of data and information at different molecular levels. The integration of these multi-omics data means that thousands of proteins (proteomics), genes (genomics), RNAs (transcriptomics) and metabolites (metabolomics) can be studied simultaneously, revealing interaction networks between the molecular levels. Integrated analysis of multi-omics data will provide useful insight into stroke pathogenesis, identification of therapeutic targets and biomarker discovery. In this Review, we detail current knowledge on the pathology of stroke and the current status of biomarker research in stroke. We summarize how proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics and genomics are all contributing to the identification of new candidate biomarkers that could be developed and used in clinical stroke management. PMID: 32322099 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Multi-omic profiling reveals associations between the gut mucosal microbiome, the metabolome, and host DNA methylation associated gene expression in patients with colorectal cancer.

Fri, 24/04/2020 - 15:00
Multi-omic profiling reveals associations between the gut mucosal microbiome, the metabolome, and host DNA methylation associated gene expression in patients with colorectal cancer. BMC Microbiol. 2020 Apr 23;20(Suppl 1):83 Authors: Wang Q, Ye J, Fang D, Lv L, Wu W, Shi D, Li Y, Yang L, Bian X, Wu J, Jiang X, Wang K, Wang Q, Hodson MP, Thibaut LM, Ho JWK, Giannoulatou E, Li L Abstract BACKGROUND: The human gut microbiome plays a critical role in the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between the host and microbiome is still lacking. RESULTS: We found correlations between the change in abundance of microbial taxa, butyrate-related colonic metabolites, and methylation-associated host gene expression in colonic tumour mucosa tissues compared with the adjacent normal mucosa tissues. The increase of genus Fusobacterium abundance was correlated with a decrease in the level of 4-hydroxybutyric acid (4-HB) and expression of immune-related peptidase inhibitor 16 (PI16), Fc Receptor Like A (FCRLA) and Lymphocyte Specific Protein 1 (LSP1). The decrease in the abundance of another potentially 4-HB-associated genus, Prevotella 2, was also found to be correlated with the down-regulated expression of metallothionein 1 M (MT1M). Additionally, the increase of glutamic acid-related family Halomonadaceae was correlated with the decreased expression of reelin (RELN). The decreased abundance of genus Paeniclostridium and genus Enterococcus were correlated with increased lactic acid level, and were also linked to the expression change of Phospholipase C Beta 1 (PLCB1) and Immunoglobulin Superfamily Member 9 (IGSF9) respectively. Interestingly, 4-HB, glutamic acid and lactic acid are all butyrate precursors, which may modify gene expression by epigenetic regulation such as DNA methylation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified associations between previously reported CRC-related microbial taxa, butyrate-related metabolites and DNA methylation-associated gene expression in tumour and normal colonic mucosa tissues from CRC patients, which uncovered a possible mechanism of the role of microbiome in the carcinogenesis of CRC. In addition, these findings offer insight into potential new biomarkers, therapeutic and/or prevention strategies for CRC. PMID: 32321427 [PubMed - in process]

Cholesterol Metabolism Is a Druggable Axis that Independently Regulates Tau and Amyloid-β in iPSC-Derived Alzheimer's Disease Neurons.

Fri, 24/04/2020 - 15:00
Related Articles Cholesterol Metabolism Is a Druggable Axis that Independently Regulates Tau and Amyloid-β in iPSC-Derived Alzheimer's Disease Neurons. Cell Stem Cell. 2019 03 07;24(3):363-375.e9 Authors: van der Kant R, Langness VF, Herrera CM, Williams DA, Fong LK, Leestemaker Y, Steenvoorden E, Rynearson KD, Brouwers JF, Helms JB, Ovaa H, Giera M, Wagner SL, Bang AG, Goldstein LSB Abstract Genetic, epidemiologic, and biochemical evidence suggests that predisposition to Alzheimer's disease (AD) may arise from altered cholesterol metabolism, although the molecular pathways that may link cholesterol to AD phenotypes are only partially understood. Here, we perform a phenotypic screen for pTau accumulation in AD-patient iPSC-derived neurons and identify cholesteryl esters (CE), the storage product of excess cholesterol, as upstream regulators of Tau early during AD development. Using isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines carrying mutations in the cholesterol-binding domain of APP or APP null alleles, we found that while CE also regulate Aβ secretion, the effects of CE on Tau and Aβ are mediated by independent pathways. Efficacy and toxicity screening in iPSC-derived astrocytes and neurons showed that allosteric activation of CYP46A1 lowers CE specifically in neurons and is well tolerated by astrocytes. These data reveal that CE independently regulate Tau and Aβ and identify a druggable CYP46A1-CE-Tau axis in AD. PMID: 30686764 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

metabolomics; +19 new citations

Thu, 23/04/2020 - 14:55
19 new pubmed citations were retrieved for your search. Click on the search hyperlink below to display the complete search results: metabolomics These pubmed results were generated on 2020/04/23PubMed comprises more than millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

metabolomics; +19 new citations

Wed, 22/04/2020 - 14:48
19 new pubmed citations were retrieved for your search. Click on the search hyperlink below to display the complete search results: metabolomics These pubmed results were generated on 2020/04/22PubMed comprises more than millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

metabolomics; +22 new citations

Tue, 21/04/2020 - 14:33
22 new pubmed citations were retrieved for your search. Click on the search hyperlink below to display the complete search results: metabolomics These pubmed results were generated on 2020/04/21PubMed comprises more than millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Mineral Composition and Antioxidant Potential in the Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) Petal Infusions.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles Mineral Composition and Antioxidant Potential in the Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) Petal Infusions. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2020 Apr 18;: Authors: Katarzyna J, Karolina J, Patrycja K, Mateusz B, Izabela G Abstract The flowers of the common poppy are used for medicinal purposes, both internally and externally. They are reported to have antispasmodic and antitussive properties, to alleviate inflammatory conditions and soothe anxiety-related digestive problems. The aim of the study was to determine the antioxidant potential and the content of vitamin C, polyphenols, and minerals in infusions made from the petals of the common poppy at different temperatures. The infusions were made at various temperatures (25 °C, 70 °C, 80 °C, and 90 °C). The antioxidant potential and the content of polyphenols and vitamin C were determined by spectrophotometric methods. The mineral content was determined using the ICP-OES method. The total polyphenol content ranged from 135.2 to 137.24 ppm and that of vitamin C-from 15.47 to 15.78 mg/100 mL. The temperature of the water used to make the infusions did not appear to have a significant effect on these parameters. The temperature did, however, significantly affect the antioxidant potential of the infusions-the highest antioxidant activity (71.21% DPPH inhibition) was observed in the infusion prepared using water at 80 °C. The infusions included in the study contained a number of minerals. No significant effect of temperature was found for the content of K, Zn, Cu, Fe, and Ni in the infusions. On the other hand, the content of Ca in the infusions was significantly correlated with the increasing temperature of the water. It was concluded that poppy petal infusions may serve as a valuable dietary supplement, providing antioxidants and minerals required by the human body to function properly. PMID: 32306285 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

The 2020 metabolomics publication awards.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles The 2020 metabolomics publication awards. Metabolomics. 2020 Apr 18;16(5):55 Authors: Goodacre R PMID: 32306222 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Lipidomics reveals associations between rice quality traits.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles Lipidomics reveals associations between rice quality traits. Metabolomics. 2020 Apr 18;16(5):54 Authors: Concepcion JCT, Calingacion M, Garson MJ, Fitzgerald MA Abstract INTRODUCTION: Lipids are a diverse group of macromolecules that occur in rice grains and are known to impact rice grain properties. Identifying the relationships between specific lipids and traits of quality is important to improve varietal selection for high quality rice. OBJECTIVES: Using untargeted lipidomics, this study aims to understand the role of lipids on different traits of quality by identifying the genotypic effect of lipids and their impact on traits of cooking and eating quality of a rice mapping population. METHODS: Lipids from milled rice grains of three sets of rice samples were screened by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) in the positive ionisation mode. Lipid features were putatively identified using analytical standards and online databases. Multivariate statistics were carried out to identify the lipid profile of varieties across three experiments. Correlation analysis was carried out between lipid features and 12 quality traits across a rice mapping population that segregates for grain physical and texture-associated traits. RESULTS: Thousands of features in rice grain lipids were detected, and were grouped into six categories-fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterol lipids and prenol lipids. A strong genotypic basis for the lipid profile was observed among the four varieties grown under five nitrogen treatments. Clear differentiation in lipid profiles between waxy and non-waxy rice was observed. Strong correlations were observed for putative lipids that form the amylose-lipid complex and with amylose content and viscosity parameters. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the strength of untargeted lipidomics in putatively determining features that differentiate varieties from each other, and reveals the role of specific lipids on the physical and textural quality of rice. PMID: 32306193 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

1H NMR-based metabolomic analysis of cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis (Ehrenberg, 1831) exposed to hypoxia stresses and post-anoxia recovery.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles 1H NMR-based metabolomic analysis of cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis (Ehrenberg, 1831) exposed to hypoxia stresses and post-anoxia recovery. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Apr 01;726:138317 Authors: Jiang M, Yang H, Peng R, Han Q, Jiang X Abstract Oxygen deficiency (hypoxia and anoxia) is an emerging concern in estuarine and coastal ecosystems worldwide. Previous studies on Mollusca Cephalopoda have focused on the effects of hypoxia stress on physiological performance and survival, but there are few reports on the molecular mechanism, and the application of metabolomics in cephalopods remains unknown. In this study, a 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomics approach was applied to investigate the metabolites profiles of Sepia pharaonis (Ehrenberg, 1831) during hypoxia and post-anoxia recovery. The results revealed that obvious tissue-specific metabolic responses were induced by hypoxia stresses. Hypoxia exposure influenced the levels of many metabolites (e.g. BCAAs, lactate, and betaine strongly accumulated in the hepatic tissue while arginine and ATP significantly reduced; lactate and adenosine significantly increased in gills whereas arginine and choline significantly decreased; GABA, taurine and adenosine levels increased in brain but a significant depletion of N-Acetylaspartate and glycogen was found), disturbed energy and amino acid metabolism, and broke the balance of neurotransmitters and osmoregulators. Notably, almost all metabolites returned to pre-exposure levels after acute hypoxia recovery. However, we noted a pronounced depletion of the amino acid pool (arginine, glutamine, and alanine) in hepatic and gills after recovery, as well as organic osmolytes fluctuations (choline, betaine, and taurine). This work highlights the potential of metabolomics methods to elucidate the response of cuttlefish to hypoxia stress, as well as to provide knowledge on metabolic changes in cephalopods under the influences of environmental stress. PMID: 32305752 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Multi-omics analyses reveal molecular mechanisms for the antagonistic toxicity of carbon nanotubes and ciprofloxacin to Escherichia coli.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles Multi-omics analyses reveal molecular mechanisms for the antagonistic toxicity of carbon nanotubes and ciprofloxacin to Escherichia coli. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Apr 13;726:138288 Authors: Deng R, Gao X, Hou J, Lin D Abstract With the increasing production and application, engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are being discharged into the environment, where they can interact with co-existing contaminants, causing complicated joint toxicity to organisms that needs to be studied. The case study of ENMs-contaminant joint toxicity and the understanding of relative mechanisms are very insufficient, particularly the mechanisms of molecular interactions and governing processes. Herein, a typical ENMs, carbon nanotubes (CNTs, 0-60 mg/L), and a common antibiotic, ciprofloxacin (CIP, 0-900 mg/L), were selected as the analytes. Their joint toxicity to a model microbe Escherichia coli was specifically investigated via biochemical, transcriptomics, and metabolomics approaches. The result revealed an antagonistic effect on growth inhibition between CNTs and CIP. Mitigations in cell membrane disruption and oxidative stress were involved in the antagonistic action. CIP (48.8-244 mg/L) decreased the bioaccumulation of CNTs (7.2 mg/L) via reducing cell-surface hydrophobicity and hindering the bio-nano interaction, which could attenuate the toxicity of CNTs to bacteria. CNTs (7.2 and 14.4 mg/L) alleviated the disturbance of CIP (122 and 244 mg/L) to gene expressions especially related to nitrogen compound metabolism, oxidoreductase activity, and iron-sulfur protein maturation, probably through relieving the CIP-induced inhibition of DNA gyrase activity. Further, CNTs (7.2 and 14.4 mg/L) offset the impact of CIP (122 and 244 mg/L) on bacterial metabolome via the regulation of biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and metabolisms of some amino acids and glutathione. The findings shed new light on the molecular mechanisms by which ENMs present joint effect on contaminant toxicity, and provide important information for risk assessments of CNTs and fluoroquinolones in the environment. PMID: 32305750 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

The plant-growth promoting bacteria promote cadmium uptake by inducing a hormonal crosstalk and lateral root formation in a hyperaccumulator plant Sedum alfredii.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles The plant-growth promoting bacteria promote cadmium uptake by inducing a hormonal crosstalk and lateral root formation in a hyperaccumulator plant Sedum alfredii. J Hazard Mater. 2020 Apr 11;395:122661 Authors: Wu Y, Ma L, Liu Q, Vestergård M, Topalovic O, Wang Q, Zhou Q, Huang L, Yang X, Feng Y Abstract Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) that inhabit hyperaccumulating plants assist cadmium (Cd) absorption, but the underlying mechanism has not been comprehensively studied. For this reason, we combined the fluorescence imaging, and transcriptomic and metabolomic methods in a Cd hyperaccumulator, Sedum alfredii, inoculated or not with PGPB Pseudomonas fluorescens. The results showed that the newly emerged lateral roots, that were heavily colonized by P. fluorescens, are the main entry for Cd influx in S. alfredii. Inoculation with P. fluorescens promoted a lateral root formation of its host plant, leading to a higher Cd phytoremediation efficiency. Furthermore, the plant transcriptome revealed that 146 plant hormone related genes were significantly up-regulated by the bacterial inoculation, with 119 of them showing a complex interaction, which suggests that a hormonal crosstalk participated root development. The targeted metabolomics analysis showed that P. fluorescens inoculation significantly increased indole acetic acid concentration and significantly decreased concentrations of abscisic acid, brassinolide, trans-zeatin, ethylene and jasmonic acid in S. alfredii roots, thereby inducing lateral root emergence. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of PGPB-induced lateral root formation for the increased Cd uptake in a hyperaccumulating plant. PMID: 32305720 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

MS2 and LC libraries for untargeted metabolomics: Enhancing method development and identification confidence.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles MS2 and LC libraries for untargeted metabolomics: Enhancing method development and identification confidence. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2020 Apr 04;1145:122105 Authors: Folberth J, Begemann K, Jöhren O, Schwaninger M, Othman A Abstract As part of the "omics" technologies in the life sciences, metabolomics is becoming increasingly important. In untargeted metabolomics, unambiguous metabolite identification and the inevitable coverage bias that comes with the selection of analytical conditions present major challenges. Reliable compound annotation is essential for translating metabolomics data into meaningful biological information. Here, we developed a fast and transferable method for generating in-house MS2 libraries to improve metabolite identification. Using the new method we established an in-house MS2 library that includes over 4,000 fragmentation spectra of 506 standard compounds for 6 different normalized collision energies (NCEs). Additionally, we generated a comprehensive liquid chromatography (LC) library by testing 57 different LC-MS conditions for 294 compounds. We used the library information to develop an untargeted metabolomics screen with maximum coverage of the metabolome that was successfully tested in a study of 360 human serum samples. The current work demonstrates a workflow for LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics, with enhanced metabolite identification confidence and the possibility to select suitable analysis conditions according to the specific research interest. PMID: 32305706 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Sex-dependent changes in the skin mucus metabolome of discus fish (Symphysodon haraldi) during biparental care.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles Sex-dependent changes in the skin mucus metabolome of discus fish (Symphysodon haraldi) during biparental care. J Proteomics. 2020 Apr 16;:103784 Authors: Wen B, Zhou JQ, Gao JZ, Chen HR, Shen YQ, Chen ZZ Abstract Discus fish Symphysodon spp. employs an unusual parental care where fry feed on parental skin mucus after hatching. Here, we investigated the mucus metabolites of parental and non-parental discus by using non-targeted metabolomics. Statistical analysis of the skin mucus metabolome revealed sex-dependent changes of mucus between parental and non-parental discus, as well as sex-specific differences between parental fish. Differential metabolites reflected that mucus of both parents was rich in prostaglandin A1, but only male contained more oligosaccharides (gentiobiose and D-melezitose) and nucleotides (guanine and cytosine), and only female detected more thymine. Moreover, differential metabolites revealed the metabolic status of parental discus, including the inhibition of biosynthesis of amino acids, e.g., L-phenylalanine (parents), L-aspartic acid (female) and taurine (male) and the activation of metabolism of these amino acids; the increase of metabolism of fatty acids such as α-Linolenic acid (female), arachidonic acid (female) and linoleic acid (male); the perturbation of metabolism of carbohydrate and energy including starch and sucrose metabolism (parents), ascorbate and aldarate metabolism (parents), amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism (female), pentose and glucuronate interconversions (male) and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism (male). These results might suggest sex-specific metabolic changes in the skin mucus of discus fish during parental care. SIGNIFICANCE: We detected the low-molecular-weight compounds present in the parental mucus of discus fish evolving for offspring and revealed the possible metabolic changes associated with parental care. These results are helpful to gain further insights on the functional and regulatory aspects of skin mucus of discus during parental care. PMID: 32305595 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Exploiting the natural variation in tomato to define pathway structure and metabolic regulation of fruit polyphenolics in the lycopersicum complex.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles Exploiting the natural variation in tomato to define pathway structure and metabolic regulation of fruit polyphenolics in the lycopersicum complex. Mol Plant. 2020 Apr 16;: Authors: Tohge T, Scossa F, Wendenburg R, Frasse P, Balbo I, Watanabe M, Alseekh S, Jadhav SS, Delfin JC, Lohse M, Giavalisco P, Usadel B, Zhang Y, Luo J, Bouzayen M, Fernie AR Abstract Whilst the structures of plant primary metabolic pathways are generally well defined and highly conserved across species, those defining specialized metabolism are less well characterized and more highly variable across species. Here, we investigate polyphenolic metabolism in the lycopersicum complex by characterizing the underlying biosynthetic and decorative reactions which comprise the metabolic network of polyphenols across eight different species of tomato. For this purpose, GC- and LC-MS based metabolomics were carried out, in concert with the evaluation of cross-hybridized-microarray for MapMan based-transcriptomic analysis, and publically available RNA sequencing data for annotation of biosynthetic genes respectively, in different tissues of Solanum lycopersicum and wild tomato species. The combined data was used to compile species-specific metabolic networks of polyphenolic metabolism allowing the proposal of an entire pan-species biosynthetic framework as well as to annotate functions of decoration enzymes involved in the creation of metabolic diversity of the flavonoid pathway. The combined results are discussed both in the context of current understanding of tomato flavonol biosynthesis as well as a global view of metabolic shift during fruit ripening. Our results are providing an example as to how large-scale biology approaches can be used for the definition and refinement of large pathways of specialized metabolism. PMID: 32305499 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Targeted and untargeted metabolomics applied to occupational exposure to hyperbaric atmosphere.

Mon, 20/04/2020 - 14:19
Related Articles Targeted and untargeted metabolomics applied to occupational exposure to hyperbaric atmosphere. Toxicol Lett. 2020 Apr 16;: Authors: Tranfo G, Marchetti E, Pigini D, Miccheli A, Spagnoli M, Sciubba F, Conta G, Tomassini A, Fattorini L Abstract Occupational exposure to hyperbaric atmosphere occurs in workers who carry out their activity in environments where breathing air pressure is at least 10% higher than pressure at sea level, and operations can be divided in Dry or Wet activities. The increased air pressure implies the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), consumption of antioxidants and reduction of antioxidant enzyme activity, causing lipid peroxidation, DNA and RNA damage. The present study was aimed to establish the relation between hyperbaric exposure and metabolic changes due to ROS unbalance, by means of the determination of urinary biomarkers of oxidatively generated damage to DNA and RNA during a controlled diving session. The investigated biomarkers were 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua), 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-oxoGuo), and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo). The experimental session involved six experienced divers subjected to 3 atmospheres absolute for 30 minutes in two different experiments, in both dry and wet conditions. Urine samples were collected at t = 0 (before exposure) and 30 (end of exposure),90, 240, 480 and 720 minutes. The concentration of 8-oxoGua, 8-oxoGuo, and 8-oxodGuo was determined by isotopic dilution high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-MS/MS). In all subjects there is an increase of the urinary excretion of 8oxo-Guo and 8oxo-dGuo, in both conditions, after 1.5 - 4 hours from the start of the experiment, and that the values tend to return to the baseline after 12 hours. Besides that, also the nucleic magnetic resonance (NMR)-based untargeted metabolomics was employed for the same objective on the same samples, confirming a different metabolic response in the subjects exposed to dry or wet conditions. In particular, the observed hypoxanthine urinary level increases during the underwater hyperbaric exposure, in agreement with the trend observed for 8-oxoGuo and 8-oxodGuo levels. Present results confirmed the relationship between exposure and oxidative stress and depicted a clear temporal trend of the investigated biomarkers. Due to the possible negative consequences of oxidative stress on workers, present research shows a new line in term of risk prevention. PMID: 32305374 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Influence of regionality and maturation time on the chemical fingerprint of whisky.

Sun, 19/04/2020 - 14:01
Related Articles Influence of regionality and maturation time on the chemical fingerprint of whisky. Food Chem. 2020 Apr 03;323:126748 Authors: Roullier-Gall C, Signoret J, Coelho C, Hemmler D, Kajdan M, Lucio M, Schäfer B, Gougeon RD, Schmitt-Kopplin P Abstract Understanding the chemical composition of whisky and the impact of each step in the manufacturing process provides a basis for responding to the challenges of producing high quality spirits. In this study, the objective was to discriminate whiskies according to their geographical origin and authenticate the maturation time in cask based on the non-volatile profiles. The combination of FT-ICR-MS and chemometrics allowed the distinction of whiskies from four geographical origins in Scotland (Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside and Islay). Statistical modeling was also used to discriminate whiskies according to the maturation time in cask and reveal chemical markers associated with the ageing regardless of the origin or the production process. Interestingly, the flow of transfer of compounds from wood barrels to distillates is not constant and homogeneous over the maturation time. The largest transfer of compounds from the barrel to the whisky was observed around twelve years of maturation. PMID: 32304953 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Cultivar, site or harvest date: the gordian knot of wine terroir.

Sun, 19/04/2020 - 14:01
Related Articles Cultivar, site or harvest date: the gordian knot of wine terroir. Metabolomics. 2020 Apr 17;16(5):52 Authors: Schmidtke LM, Antalick G, Šuklje K, Blackman JW, Boccard J, Deloire A Abstract INTRODUCTION: The complex interactions of vine cultivars, and localised regional climate associated with specific vineyard sites are important attributes to the concept of terroir and significant contributors to grape maturity and wine sensory profiles. An improved understanding of the influence of each factor and their interactions is a challenging conundrum, and will enable more efficient production targeting specific wine styles. OBJECTIVES: To characterise the metabolic flux of grape berries and resulting wines to characterise the relative impact of site specific climate, cultivar, and grape maturity based upon berry sugar accumulation models that consistently target specific wine styles. METHODS: A spatial and temporal study of grape and wine composition was undertaken for two important cultivars in two distinct regions of New South Wales. Measures of composition and wine sensory ratings were simultaneously analysed using a multiblock algorithm taking advantage of the ANOVA framework to identify important contributions to wine style arising from grape maturity, vineyard site and cultivar. RESULTS: A consistent flux of grape and wine constituents is evident for wine made from sequentially harvested grapes from the same vineyard with increasing levels of grape maturity. Contributions of region and vineyard site to wine style could also be elucidated. Differences in metabolite flux in grapes and resulting wines between cultivars growing in similar conditions are evident. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of a metabolomics and multiblock data decomposition approach may be successfully used to profile and elucidate the contribution of abiotic factors to grape and wine composition and provide improved understanding of the terroir concept. PMID: 32303865 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Dual mass spectrometry as a tool to improve annotation and quantification in targeted plasma lipidomics.

Sun, 19/04/2020 - 14:01
Related Articles Dual mass spectrometry as a tool to improve annotation and quantification in targeted plasma lipidomics. Metabolomics. 2020 Apr 17;16(5):53 Authors: Gao L, Cazenave-Gassiot A, Burla B, Wenk MR, Torta F Abstract INTRODUCTION: High quality data, based on reliable quantification and clear identification of the reported lipid species, are required for the clinical translation of human plasma lipidomic studies. OBJECTIVE: Lipid quantification can be efficiently performed on triple quadrupole (QqQ) mass spectrometers in targeted multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. However, a series of issues can be encountered when aiming at unambiguous identification and accurate quantification, including (i) resolving peaks of polyunsaturated species, (ii) discriminating between plasmanyl-, plasmenyl- and odd chain species and (iii) resolving the isotopic overlap between co-eluting lipid species. METHODS: As a practical tool to improve the quality of targeted lipidomics studies, we applied a Dual MS platform by simultaneously coupling a reversed-phase liquid chromatography separation to a QqQ and a quadrupole-time of flight (Q-ToF) mass spectrometers. In one single experiment, this platform allows to correctly identify, by high-resolution MS and MS/MS, the peaks that are quantified by MRM. RESULTS: As proof of concept, we applied the platform on glycerophosphocholines (GPCs) and sphingomyelins (SMs), which are highly abundant in human plasma and play crucial roles in various physiological functions. Our results demonstrated that Dual MS could provide a higher level of confidence in the identification and quantification of GPCs and SMs in human plasma. The same approach can also be applied to improve the study of other lipid classes and expanded for the identification of novel lipid molecular species. CONCLUSIONS: This methodology might have a great potential to achieve a better specificity in the quantification of lipids by targeted lipidomics in high-throughput studies. PMID: 32303853 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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