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Measurement of Energy Metabolism in Explanted Retinal Tissue Using Extracellular Flux Analysis
Published on: January 7, 2019
Targeted Blood Metabolomic Study on Retinopathy of Prematurity
Yuhang Yang1, Zhenquan Wu1, Sitao Li1
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Insights
Higher blood levels of malonyl carnitine (C3DC) and glycine may serve as biomarkers for predicting retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants. This finding offers potential for early ROP diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neonatology
- Metabolomics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant cause of visual impairment in premature infants.
- Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for managing ROP and preventing vision loss.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate metabolic alterations in premature infants with ROP.
- To identify potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of ROP.
Main Methods:
- Targeted metabolomic analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
- Analysis of metabolites in 81 premature infants (40 ROP cases, 41 controls).
- Statistical analysis including multivariate and univariate methods.
Main Results:
- Identified discriminant metabolites including glycine, glutamate, leucine, serine, piperidine, valine, tryptophan, citrulline, malonyl carnitine (C3DC), and homocysteine.
- Significantly different concentrations of C3DC and glycine were observed between ROP and non-ROP infants.
- These metabolites provide insight into the metabolomic landscape of ROP development.
Conclusions:
- Higher blood levels of C3DC and glycine show promise as predictive biomarkers for ROP occurrence.
- These biomarkers may aid in the early detection of ROP, though not its severity.
- The study enhances understanding of the metabolic underpinnings of ROP.
Purpose:
This study aims at exploring alterations of major metabolites and metabolic pathways in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) infants and identifying biomarkers that may merit early diagnosis of ROP.
Methods:
We analyzed targeted metabolites from 81 premature infants (<34 weeks of gestational age), including 40 ROP cases (15 males and 25 females, birth weight 1.263 ± 0. 345 kg, gestational age 31.20 ± 4.62 weeks) and 41 cases (30 males, 11 females, birth weight 1.220 ± 0.293 kg, gestational age 30.96 ± 4.17 weeks) of well-matched non-ROP controls. Metabolites were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Standard multivariate and univariate analysis was performed to interpret metabolomic results.
Results:
Glycine, glutamate, leucine, serine, piperidine, valine, tryptophan, citrulline, malonyl carnitine (C3DC), and homocysteine were identified as the top discriminant metabolites. In particular, discriminant concentrations of C3DC and glycine were also confirmed by univariate analysis as statistically significant different between ROP and non-ROP infants.
Conclusions:
This study gained an insight into the metabolomic aspects of ROP development. We suggest that higher blood levels of C3DC and glycine can be promising biomarkers to predict the occurrence, but not the severity of ROP.
