Metabolomic study: identification of hexadecanal as a potential biomarker for preeclampsia : diploma thesis

Abstract

U ovom diplomskom radu provedena je ne-ciljana metabolomička analiza hlapljivih organskih metabolita u uzorcima urina trudnica s ciljem pronalaska i identifikacije potencijalnih biomarkera preeklampsije – ozbiljnog metaboličkog poremećaja koji se javlja tijekom trudnoće. Ukupno je analiziran 91 uzorak urina, od čega je 45 uzoraka pripadalo trudnicama s dijagnosticiranom preeklampsijom, a ostalih 46 uzoraka zdravih trudnica služilo je kao kontrolna skupina. Kemijska analiza temeljena je na mikroekstrakciji vršnih para na krutoj fazi u kombinaciji s vezanim sustavom plinske kromatografije i spektrometrije masa (HS-SPME/GC-MS), nakon čega je uslijedila obrada podataka i statistička analiza kako bi se identificirali statistički značajni metaboliti. Provedba ove opsežne metabolomičke studije rezultirala je identifikacijom ukupno 29 hlapljivih metabolita u obje ispitivane skupine uzoraka, pri čemu se heksadekanal istaknuo kao statistički najznačajniji spoj povezan s preeklampsijom. Analiza biomarkera pokazala je obećavajući dijagnostički potencijal heksadekanala, dok je analiza obogaćenja istaknula njegovu povezanost sa metabolizmom sfingolipida. Stoga ova studija pozicionira heksadekanal kao potencijalni neinvazivni biomarker preeklampsije, pružajući novi uvid u metaboličke poremećaje koji stoje u pozadini patofiziologije ovog ozbiljnog zdravstvenog stanja.In this thesis, an untargeted metabolomics analysis of volatile organic metabolites in urine samples from pregnant women was conducted. The aim of it was identifying potential biomarkers for preeclampsia – a serious metabolic disorder that occurs during pregnancy. A total of 91 urine samples were analyzed, 45 of which belonged to pregnant women diagnosed with preeclampsia, while the remaining 46 samples from healthy pregnant women served as the control group. The chemical analysis was based on solid-phase microextraction of headspace vapor, combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS- SPME/GC-MS), followed by data processing and statistical analysis to identify statistically significant metabolites. This comprehensive metabolomics study resulted in the identification of 29 volatile organic metabolites across both groups, with hexadecanal standing out as the most statistically significant compound associated with preeclampsia. Biomarker analysis demonstrated the promising diagnostic potential of hexadecanal, while enrichment analysis highlighted its connection to sphingolipid metabolism. Therefore, this study positions hexadecanal as a potential non-invasive biomarker for preeclampsia, providing fresh insights into the metabolic disturbances underlying the pathophysiology of this serious health condition