Overview of Adductomics in Toxicology

Area of Science:

• Molecular epidemiology
• Toxicology
• Biomarker discovery

Background:

• Adductomics provides molecular-level insights into chemical exposures and their health effects.
• Exposures can stem from synthetic chemicals or endogenous oxidation products, such as those from lipid peroxidation.
• Understanding chemical adducts is crucial for identifying disease causes and developing biomarkers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce adductomics as a method for molecular epidemiology.
• To highlight the capabilities of untargeted and targeted adductomics.
• To showcase adductomics' potential in identifying disease biomarkers and understanding chemical toxicity.

Main Methods:

• Utilizes ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry.
• Analyzes chemical adducts on albumin, hemoglobin, and DNA.
• Compares adduct levels between healthy and exposed individuals.

Main Results:

• Untargeted adductomics identifies biomarkers for various cancers, including breast, colorectal, childhood leukemia, and lung cancer.
• The technique provides information on multiple toxicants and relative exposure levels over time.
• Mass spectrometry identifies the chemical structure of adducts, revealing exposure sources.

Conclusions:

• Adductomics offers structural insights into chemical exposures and serves as a platform for disease biomarker discovery.
• It bridges the gap between exposure assessment and understanding health outcomes.
• This field is vital for advancing molecular epidemiology and toxicological research.