83 research outputs found
Metabolomic biomarkers for obesity in humans: a short review
<b><i>Background:</i></b> The prevalence and incidence of obesity have become a major public health problem during the last decades, but the underlying biochemical and metabolic processes are not fully understood. Metabolomics, the science of small molecules of the metabolism, is helping to unravel these mechanisms via the identification of markers related to obesity. These biomarkers are used to prevent diseases in later life or for the early diagnosis of diseases. This review focuses on articles dealing with biomarkers for obesity. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), nonesterified fatty acids, organic acids, acylcarnitines, and phospholipids were identified as potential biomarkers for obesity. This indicates a relation between elevated BCAA, and other amino acids, and the obese state. Furthermore, deregulation of β-oxidation is associated with the development of obesity. The results have several limitations, including the differing ages of the subjects in the studies, the fact that all of the studies had a case-control design and therefore no causal explanatory power, and that most looked for similar metabolites and reported almost equal results. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The strength of this review is that it gives a comprehensive overview of the current status of the knowledge on metabolomics biomarkers for obesity, but further research is needed because the methods used in the studies to date are very homogenous, e.g. most used a targeted approach and therefore analyzed almost the same group of metabolites. Moreover, prospective studies are lacking since all of the studies are either case-control or cross-sectional studies.</jats:p
Phospholipid Species in Newborn and 4 Month Old Infants after Consumption of Different Formulas or Breast Milk
Phospholipid Species in Newborn and 4 Month Old Infants after Consumption of Different Formulas or Breast Milk
INTRODUCTION:Arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are important long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids for neuronal and cognitive development and are ingredients of infant formulae that are recommended but there is no evidence based minimal supplementation level available. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the effect of supplemented AA and DHA on phospholipid metabolism. METHODS:Plasma samples of a randomized, double-blind infant feeding trial were used for the analyses of phospholipid species by flow-injection mass spectrometry. Healthy term infants consumed isoenergetic formulae (intervention formula with equal amounts of AA and DHA-IF, control formula without additional AA and DHA-CF) from the first month of life until the age of 120 days. A group of breast milk (BM) -fed infants was followed as a reference. RESULTS:The plasma profile detected in newborns was different from 4 month old infants, irrespective of study group. Most relevant changes were seen in higher level of LPC16:1, LPC20:4, PC32:1, PC34:1 and PC36:4 and lower level of LPC18:0, LPC18:2, PC32:2, PC36:2 and several ether-linked phosphatidylcholines in newborns. The sum of all AA and DHA species at 4 month old infants in the CF group showed level of 40% (AA) and 51% (DHA) of newborns. The supplemented amount of DHA resulted in phospholipid level comparable to BM infants, but AA phospholipids were lower than in BM infants. Interestingly, relative contribution of DHA was higher in ether-linked phosphatidylcholines in CF fed infants, but IF and BM fed infants showed higher overall ether-linked phosphatidylcholines levels. CONCLUSION:In conclusion, we have shown that infant plasma phospholipid profile changes remarkably from newborn over time and is dependent on the dietary fatty acid composition. A supplementation of an infant formula with AA and DHA resulted in increased related phospholipid species
Regulation of early human growth: impact on long-term health
Growth and development are central characteristics of childhood. Deviations from normal growth can indicate serious health challenges. The adverse impact of early growth faltering and malnutrition on later health has long been known. In contrast, the impact of rapid early weight and body fat gain on programming of later disease risk have only recently received increased attention. Numerous observational studies related diet in early childhood and rapid early growth to the risk of later obesity and associated disorders. Causality was confirmed in a large, double-blind randomised trial testing the ‘Early Protein Hypothesis'. In this trial we found that attenuation of protein supply in infancy normalized early growth and markedly reduced obesity prevalence in early school age. These results indicate the need to describe and analyse growth patterns and their regulation through diet in more detail and to characterize the underlying metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms, given the potential major relevance for public health and policy. Better understanding of growth patterns and their regulation could have major benefits for the promotion of public health, consumer-orientated nutrition recommendations, and the development of improved food products for specific target populations.</jats:p
Longitudinal Metabolomic Profiling of Amino Acids and Lipids across Healthy Pregnancy
Pregnancy is characterized by a complexity of metabolic processes that may
impact fetal development and ultimately, infant health outcomes. However, our
understanding of whole body maternal and fetal metabolism during this critical
life stage remains incomplete. The objective of this study is to utilize
metabolomics to profile longitudinal patterns of fasting maternal metabolites
among a cohort of non-diabetic, healthy pregnant women in order to advance our
understanding of changes in protein and lipid concentrations across gestation,
the biochemical pathways by which they are metabolized and to describe
variation in maternal metabolites between ethnic groups. Among 160 pregnant
women, amino acids, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, keto-bodies
and non-esterified fatty acids were detected by liquid chromatography coupled
with mass spectrometry, while polar lipids were detected through flow-injected
mass spectrometry. The maternal plasma concentration of several essential and
non-essential amino acids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, free
carnitine, acetylcarnitine, phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins
significantly decreased across pregnancy. Concentrations of several TCA
intermediates increase as pregnancy progresses, as well as the keto-body
β-hydroxybutyrate. Ratios of specific acylcarnitines used as indicators of
metabolic pathways suggest a decreased beta-oxidation rate and increased
carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 enzyme activity with advancing gestation.
Decreasing amino acid concentrations likely reflects placental uptake and
tissue biosynthesis. The absence of any increase in plasma non-esterified
fatty acids is unexpected in the catabolic phase of later pregnancy and may
reflect enhanced placental fatty acid uptake and utilization for fetal tissue
growth. While it appears that energy production through the TCA cycle
increases as pregnancy progresses, decreasing patterns of free carnitine and
acetylcarnitine as well as increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 rate and
β-hydroxybutyrate levels suggest a concomitant upregulation of ketogenesis to
ensure sufficient energy supply in the fasting state. Several differences in
metabolomic profiles between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women demonstrate
phenotypic variations in prenatal metabolism which should be considered in
future studies
Sex differences in the association of phospholipids with components of the metabolic syndrome in young adults
BACKGROUND: There are differences in the prevalence and severity of diseases between males, females not taking hormonal contraceptives (non-HC females) and females taking hormonal contraceptives (HC females). The aim of this study was to identify sex-specific differences in the metabolome and its relation to components of the metabolic syndrome in a young adult population. METHODS: The subjects analysed are from the 20-year follow-up of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Two hundred fifteen plasma metabolites were analysed in 1021 fasted plasma samples by a targeted liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) metabolomics approach. Principal component analysis between males (n = 550), non-HC females (n = 199) and HC females (n = 269) was applied. Regression analysis with a sex x metabolite concentration interaction was performed on components of the MetS, namely waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and plasma HDL-C, triglycerides and glucose concentration, as outcome to select the significant metabolites of the interaction. Those selected metabolites were used as predictors in a sex group stratified analysis to compare the different beta coefficients and therefore the sex group-dependent associations. RESULTS: Principal component analysis between males, non-HC females, and HC females showed a general discriminating trend between males and HC females. One hundred twenty-seven metabolites were significantly different between males and non-HC females, whereas 97 differed between non-HC females and HC females. Males and non-HC females mainly differed in sphingomyelin, lyso-phosphatidylcholine, acyl-carnitine and amino acid species, whilst non-HC females and HC females mainly differed in phosphatidylcholine, lyso-phosphatidylcholine and acyl-carnitine concentrations. Forty-one metabolites (phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelines, lyso-phosphatidylcholine) were significantly differently associated with the MetS factors in the different groups. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown clear differences between plasma metabolite concentrations in males, and HC or non-HC females, especially in lyso-phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine, which have been shown to associate with obesity in other studies. The association of these metabolites differed between sexes with components of the metabolic syndrome, which means that development of diseases like obesity and diabetes may differ between the sexes. Our findings highlight the importance of considering sex differences when conducting a metabolomics study and the need to account for the effect of HC usage in females in future studies
Association of Maternal Diet during Pregnancy and Metabolite Profile in Cord Blood
Cord blood metabolites can be predictive of long-term disease risk, but how levels of different metabolites might vary with respect to maternal diet is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of different dietary patterns during pregnancy with cord blood metabolites (including glycerophospholipid fatty acids, polar lipids, non-esterified fatty acids, amino acids, and the sum of hexoses). Participants from the German LISA birth cohort study, with available data on targeted cord blood metabolomics and maternal diet, were included (n = 739). Maternal diet during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy was assessed by a non-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Using factor analysis, ten dietary patterns were identified, which were used in linear regression models exploring associations with cord blood metabolites. After correction for multiple hypothesis testing and adjustment for basic covariates, fish and shellfish was associated with higher glycerophospholipid fatty acid C20:5 n3 and lower C22:5 n6, whereas the meat and potato pattern was directly associated with propionylcarnitine (C3:0). The observed associations highlight potential metabolic pathways involved in the early programming of health and disease through maternal diet, as well as the potential for establishing quantitative biomarkers for dietary patterns of pregnant women
The Power of Programming and the EarlyNutrition project: opportunities for health promotion by nutrition during the first thousand days of life and beyond
A population-based resource for intergenerational metabolomics analyses in pregnant women and their children: the Generation R Study
INTRODUCTION: Adverse exposures in early life may predispose children to cardio-metabolic disease in later life. Metabolomics may serve as a valuable tool to disentangle the metabolic adaptations and mechanisms that potentially underlie these associations. OBJECTIVES: T
- …