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Updated: May 13, 2026
Identification and Quantification of Deranged Metabolites in Critically Ill Patients Using NMR-Based Metabolomics
Published on: November 29, 2024
NMR-based metabolomics and breath studies show lipid and protein catabolism during low dose chronic T(1)AM treatment
J A Haviland1, H Reiland, D E Butz
1Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Objective:
3-Iodothyronamine (T1 AM), an analog of thyroid hormone, is a recently discovered fast-acting endogenous metabolite. Single high-dose treatments of T1 AM have produced rapid short-term effects, including a reduction of body temperature, bradycardia, and hyperglycemia in mice.
Design And Methods:
The effect of daily low doses of T1 AM (10 mg/kg) for 8 days on weight loss and metabolism in spontaneously overweight mice was monitored. The experiments were repeated twice (n = 4). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of plasma and real-time analysis of exhaled (13) CO2 in breath by cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) were used to detect T1 AM-induced lipolysis.
Results:
CRDS detected increased lipolysis in breath shortly after T1 AM administration that was associated with a significant weight loss but independent of food consumption. NMR spectroscopy revealed alterations in key metabolites in serum: valine, glycine, and 3-hydroxybutyrate, suggesting that the subchronic effects of T1 AM include both lipolysis and protein breakdown. After discontinuation of T1 AM treatment, mice regained only 1.8% of the lost weight in the following 2 weeks, indicating lasting effects of T1 AM on weight maintenance.
Conclusions:
CRDS in combination with NMR and (13) C-metabolic tracing constitute a powerful method of investigation in obesity studies for identifying in vivo biochemical pathway shifts and unanticipated debilitating side effects.
