Investigation of the mechanisms of Genkwa Flos hepatotoxicity by a cell metabolomics strategy combined with serum pharmacology in HL-7702 liver cells

1. To investigate Genkwa Flos hepatotoxicity, a cell metabolomics strategy combined with serum pharmacology was performed on human HL-7702 liver cells in this study.

2. Firstly, cell viability and biochemical indicators were determined and the cell morphology was observed to confirm the cell injury and develop a cell hepatotoxicity model. Then, with the help of cell metabolomics based on UPLC-MS, the Genkwa Flos group samples were completely separated from the blank group samples in the score plots and seven upregulated as well as two down-regulated putative biomarkers in the loading plot were identified and confirmed. Besides, two signal molecules and four enzymes involved in biosynthesis pathway of lysophosphatidylcholine and the sphingosine kinase/sphingosine-1-phosphate pathway were determined to investigate the relationship between Genkwa Flos hepatotoxicity and these two classic pathways. Finally, the metabolic pathways related to specific biomarkers and two classic metabolic pathways were analyzed to explain the possible mechanism of Genkwa Flos hepatotoxicity.

3. Based on the results, lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, phospholipase A₂/lysophosphatidylcholine pathway, the disturbance of sphingosine-1-phosphate metabolic profile centered on sphingosine kinase/sphingosine-1-phosphate pathway and fatty acid metabolism might be critical participators in the progression of liver injury induced by Genkwa Flos.     

Patterns in metabolite profile are associated with risk of more aggressive prostate cancer: A prospective study of 3,057 matched case–control sets from EPIC

Metabolomics may reveal novel insights into the etiology of prostate cancer, for which few risk factors are established. We investigated the association between patterns in baseline plasma metabolite profile and subsequent prostate cancer risk, using data from 3,057 matched case–control sets from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We measured 119 metabolite concentrations in plasma samples, collected on average 9.4 years before diagnosis, by mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit, Biocrates Life Sciences AG). Metabolite patterns were identified using treelet transform, a statistical method for identification of groups of correlated metabolites. Associations of metabolite patterns with prostate cancer risk (OR_1SD) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Supplementary analyses were conducted for metabolite patterns derived using principal component analysis and for individual metabolites. Men with metabolite profiles characterized by higher concentrations of either phosphatidylcholines or hydroxysphingomyelins (OR_1SD = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.89), acylcarnitines C18:1 and C18:2, glutamate, ornithine and taurine (OR_1SD = 0.72, 0.57–0.90), or lysophosphatidylcholines (OR_1SD = 0.81, 0.69–0.95) had lower risk of advanced stage prostate cancer at diagnosis, with no evidence of heterogeneity by follow-up time. Similar associations were observed for the two former patterns with aggressive disease risk (the more aggressive subset of advanced stage), while the latter pattern was inversely related to risk of prostate cancer death (OR_1SD = 0.77, 0.61–0.96). No associations were observed for prostate cancer overall or less aggressive tumor subtypes. In conclusion, metabolite patterns may be related to lower risk of more aggressive prostate tumors and prostate cancer death, and might be relevant to etiology of advanced stage prostate cancer.     

创伤性脊髓损伤患者血清和尿液的代谢组学分析

背景:创伤性脊髓损伤在临床上主要依赖于量表评估与影像学检查,但对于损伤程度的预后评估具有一定局限性,利用代谢组学技术进行生物标志物筛选,对于估计病变范围、损伤与恢复程度以及开发新疗法具有重要意义。目的:使用代谢组学技术来表征创伤性脊髓损伤患者的代谢特征,探寻潜在的生物标志物及失调的代谢途径。方法:收集20例创伤性脊髓损伤患者(观察组)和10例健康受试者(对照组)的血清和尿液样本,进行代谢物分析,然后利用多元变量统计分析进行数据处理,筛选差异代谢物。通过MetaboAnalyst软件进行代谢通路富集,应用logistic回归构建生物标志物组合模型,并分析其与美国脊髓损伤协会(ASIA)分级的关系。结果与结论:两组受试者的血清和尿液中分别检测出160种和73种具有显著差异的代谢物。通路富集分析显示,创伤性脊髓损伤后脂质代谢出现明显的紊乱,包括鞘脂类、亚油酸、α-亚麻酸和花生四烯酸代谢以及糖基磷脂酰肌醇生物合成。识别出他索沙坦和葫芦素糖苷这组生物标志物,并且二者构成的代谢物组合在血清和尿液中的水平与ASIA分级存在相关性。由此可见,代谢组学技术为进一步理解创伤性脊髓损伤病理机制、筛选治疗靶点提供帮助。识别出的代谢生物标志物组合可能为评估创伤性脊髓损伤的严重程度提供参考。     

非靶向代谢组学揭示天葵不同部位差异代谢物及其主要代谢途径

目的:利用非靶向代谢组学挖掘天葵非药用部位潜在的药用价值。方法:以天葵茎、叶、花为材料,利用超高效液相色谱-质谱法对其进行非靶向代谢组学分析。结果:天葵茎、叶、花中共鉴定出16大类101个差异代谢物(DAMs),其中包含羧酸及其衍生物、有机含氧化合物、脂质、苯及其取代衍生物、生物碱、黄酮类、萜类、苯丙素类、酚酸类、核苷酸、有机盐、内酯、有机酸、内源性植物激素、氨基酸和13个其他物质。通过聚类和京都基因与基因组百科全书(KEGG)分析发现,天葵不同部位的DAMs代谢模式存在一定的差异;其主要代谢途径为苯丙氨酸代谢途径、ABC转运途径、氨酰-tRNA合成途径及苯丙氨酸、酪氨酸和色氨酸生物合成途径。结论:通过天葵不同部位间DAMs的鉴定及其生物合成途径的分析,确定天葵茎、叶、花富含多种具有药用功效的代谢活性物质,可为天葵茎、叶、花的资源开发利用提供参考。     

仙鹤草茎与叶的代谢组学比较分析

目的 通过代谢组学分析仙鹤草茎与叶中代谢物及其代谢通路差异,进一步阐明仙鹤草药效物质基础,促进仙鹤草合理开发利用。方法 取仙鹤草茎、叶新鲜样本,经液氮冷冻后提取代谢物,采用液相色谱-质谱法检测,所得数据运用统计学方法分析并与数据库比对鉴定。结果 筛选并鉴定出105个具有明显差异的代谢物,其中茎与叶相比有34个代谢物上调、71个代谢物下调。差异代谢物共注释到62条代谢通路中。茎中叶黄素、天冬酰胺、胍丁胺及多种氨基酸等物质含量更高,氨基酸代谢更强;叶中酚酸类、黄酮类物质积累更为丰富,次生代谢更强。结论 仙鹤草茎与叶均含有丰富的药效活性成分,但叶的次生代谢更强,次生代谢物积累更为丰富,此差异或可为仙鹤草针对性开发利用提供参考。     

Neuroprotective effects of Longxue Tongluo Capsule on ischemic stroke rats revealed by LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics approach

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect and explore the underlying mechanisms of Longxue Tongluo Capsule (LTC) on ischemic stroke rats. Methods: Twenty-six rats were randomly divided into four groups, including sham group, sham + LTC group, MCAO group, and MCAO + LTC group. Ischemic stroke rats were simulated by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and LTC treatment group were orally administrated with 300 mg/kg of LTC once daily for seven consecutive days. LTC therapy was validated in terms of neurobehavioral abnormality evaluation, cerebral infarct area, and histological assessments. The plasma metabolome comparisons amongst different groups were conducted by UHPLC-Q Exactive MS in combination with subsequent multivariate statistical analysis, aiming to finding the molecules in respond to the surgery or LTC treatment. Results: Intragastric administration of LTC significantly decreased not only the neurobehavioral abnormality scores but also the cerebral infarct area of MCAO rats. The interstitial edema, atrophy, and pyknosis of glial and neuronal cells occurred in the infarcted area, core area, and marginal area of cerebral cortex were improved after LTC treatment. A total of 13 potential biomarkers were observed, and Youden index of 11 biomarkers such as LysoPC, SM, and PE were more than 0.7, which were involved in neuroprotective process. The correlation and pathway analysis showed that LTC was beneficial to ischemic stroke rats via regulating glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism, together with nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Heatmap and ternary analysis indicated the synergistic effect of carbohydrates and lipids may be induced by flavonoid intake from LTC. Conclusion: The present study could provide evidence that metabolomics, as systematic approach, revealed its capacity to evaluate the holistic efficacy of TCM, and investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the clinical treatment of LTC on ischemic stroke.     

基于肠道菌群和代谢组学研究化滞柔肝颗粒治疗非酒精性脂肪肝的作用机制

目的 探讨化滞柔肝颗粒治疗非酒精性脂肪肝（nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,NAFLD）的作用机制。方法 高脂饮食饲养8周构建大鼠NAFLD模型,化滞柔肝颗粒ig给药4周。半自动生化分析仪测定大鼠血脂相关指标;油红O染色观察肝脏组织病理变化;Illumina Miseq测序平台对V3～V4可变区进行扩增和测序,超高效液相色谱串联质谱（UPLCMS/MS）开展血浆代谢组学研究,并结合Spearman进行肠道菌群与代谢组学之间的关联分析。结果 与模型组相比,化滞柔肝颗粒中、高剂量组可显著降低大鼠体质量（P<0.05、0.01）和血清总胆固醇（totalcholesterol,TC）、三酰甘油（triacylglycerol,TG）水平（P<0.01）,升高高密度脂蛋白（high-density lipoprotein cholesterol,HDL-C）水平（P<0.05、0.01）。此外,化滞柔肝颗粒高剂量组还可显著降低大鼠低密度脂蛋白（low-density lipoprotein cholesterol,LDL-C）水平（P<0...     

Investigation of urinary components in rat model of ketamine-induced bladder fibrosis based on metabolomics

BackgroundKetamine abuse has been linked to the system''s damage, presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). While the pathogenesis of ketamine-induced urinary damage is not fully understood, fibrosis is believed to be a potential mechanism. A metabolomic investigation of the urinary metabolites in ketamine abuse was conducted to gain insights into its pathogenesis.MethodsA rat model of ketamine induced bladder fibrosis was established through tail vein injection of ketamine hydrochloride and control group was established through tail vein injection of the equivalent normal saline. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and Masson trichrome staining were performed to evaluated bladder pathology. Urinary components were detected based on a metabolomic approach using ultra-high performance liquid tandem chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOFMS platform). Orthogonal projections analyzed the data to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and bioinformatics analysis.ResultsThe rat model of ketamine induced bladder fibrosis was confirmed through H&E and Masson trichrome staining. There were marked differences in the urinary metabolites between the experimental group and the control group. Compared to the control group, 16 kinds of differential metabolites were up-regulated and 102 differential metabolites were down-regulated in the urine samples of the ketamine group. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the related metabolic pathways.ConclusionsUsing a ketamine-induced bladder fibrosis rat model, this study identified the differential urinary metabolites expressed following ketamine treatment. These results provide vital clues for exploring the pathogenesis of ketamine-induced LUTS and may further contribute to the disease''s diagnosis and treatment.