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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Identification and Quantification of Deranged Metabolites in Critically Ill Patients Using NMR-Based Metabolomics
Published on: November 29, 2024
Metabolomic profiling of samples from pediatric patients with asthma unveils deficient nutrients in African Americans
Hui-Qi Qu1, Joseph Glessner1,2,3, Jingchun Qu1
1The Center for Applied Genomics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3615 Civic Center Blvd, Abramson Building, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Abstract:
Plasma metabolomics represents a potentially powerful approach to understand the biochemical mechanisms of nutrition and metabolism in asthma. This study aims to acquire knowledge on plasma metabolites in asthma, which may provide avenues for nutrition therapy, as well as explanations for the observed effects in existing therapies. This study investigated 249 metabolites from 18 metabolite groups in a large cohort of African American population, including 602 pediatric patients with asthma and 593 controls, using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics platform. Decreased levels of citrate, ketone bodies, and two amino acids histidine (His) and glutamine (Gln), were observed in asthma cases compared to controls. Metabolites for lipid metabolism lost significance after controlling for comorbid obesity. For the first time, this study depicts a broad panorama of lipid metabolism and nutrition in asthma. Supplementation or augmentation of nutrients that are deficient may be beneficial for asthma care.
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