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Background: The metabolomic approaches for mining biomarkers of women's cancers based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with partial least squares-discriminant analysis are described., Methods: To identify urinary potential biomarkers, the qualitative and quantitative analyses were introduced with 10 breast, 9 ovarian and 12 cervical cancer patients as well as 22 normal controls, which were considered with their ages and menopausal state., Results: For comprehensive metabolomic approaches, the non-targeted qualitative profiling was first achieved to get metabolic patterns of collected samples and the targeted quantitative analysis focused on hormonal metabolism was also conducted. Two known biomarkers, i.e., 5-hydroxymethyl-2-deoxyuridine and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, in breast cancer were also confirmed using the present methods. In addition, 3 potential biomarkers for ovarian cancer i.e. 1-methyladenosine, 3-methyluridine, and 4-androstene-3,17-dione, which were categorized in significantly increased level using one way of variance analysis (p<0.05), were identified as quantitatively targeted metabolites with pattern analysis. The cancer markers identified in this study are highly related to metabolites which are responsible for oxidative DNA damage and DNA methylation process., Conclusion: The present metabolomic approaches are not only useful for diagnostic tools and patient stratification, but may be mapped on metabolic network to reflect disease states.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease that is frequently found in athletes and those who have experienced repetitive head traumas. CTE is associated with a variety of neuropathologies, which cause cognitive and behavioral impairments in CTE patients. However, currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death via brain autopsy, and it is challenging to distinguish it from other neurodegenerative diseases with similar clinical features. To better understand this multifaceted disease and identify metabolic differences in the postmortem brain tissues of CTE patients and control subjects, we performed ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS)-based non-targeted metabolomics. Through multivariate and pathway analysis, we found that the brains of CTE patients had significant changes in the metabolites involved in astrocyte activation, phenylalanine, and tyrosine metabolism. The unique metabolic characteristics of CTE identified in this study were associated with cognitive dysfunction, amyloid-beta deposition, and neuroinflammation. Altogether, this study provided new insights into the pathogenesis of CTE and suggested appealing targets for both diagnosis and treatment for the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical accidents have frequently occurred in South Korea as a result of the huge amount of chemicals being used in various industries. Even though fire accidents accounted for 71.9% of chemical accidents during 2008–2018 in South Korea, most ecological research and investigation has focused on leakage accidents since most fire or explosion gases are diffused out and disappear into the atmosphere. In this study, the possibility of soil contamination by toluene combustion is proposed. A fire simulation batch test was performed and identified the combustion by-products such as methylbenzene, ethylbenzene, ethynylbenzene, benzaldehyde, 1-phenyl-1-propyne, naphthalene, 2-methylindene using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Naphthyl-2-methyl-succinic acid, a metabolic intermediate of naphthalene metabolism derived from the combustion product of toluene, was also discovered in field soil and the secondary metabolites such as streptomycin 6-phosphate, 3-Nitroacrylate, oxaloacetate using LC–MS. Moreover, Streptomyces scabiei, participating in naphthalene metabolism, was also discovered in filed soil (contaminated soil) using 16s rRNA sequencing. As a result, bacterial stress responses in field soil (contaminated soil) affected by gas cloud were identified by discovering metabolites relating to bacterial self-defense action such as fatty biosynthesis. This study draws a conclusion that soil can be polluted enough to affect bacteria by gas cloud and soil bacteria and can encounter stress for a long term even though toluene and its combustion products had already decomposed in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male pattern baldness (MPB) has been associated with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) expression. Finasteride treats MPB by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase and blocking DHT production. In this study, we aimed to identify metabolic differences in urinary metabolomics profiles between MPB patients after a one-year treatment with finasteride and healthy controls. Untargeted and targeted metabolomics profiling was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We hypothesized that there would be changes in overall metabolite concentrations, especially steroids, in the urine of hair loss patients treated with finasteride and normal subjects. Untargeted analysis indicated differences in steroid hormone biosynthesis. Therefore, we conducted targeted profiling for steroid hormone biosynthesis to identify potential biomarkers, especially androgens and estrogens. Our study confirmed the differences in the concentration of urinary androgens and estrogens between healthy controls and MPB patients. Moreover, the effect of finasteride was confirmed by the DHT/T ratio in urine samples of MPB patients. Our metabolomics approach provided insight into the physiological alterations in MPB patients who have been treated with finasteride for a year and provided evidence for the association of finasteride and estrogen levels. Through a targeted approach, our results suggest that urinary estrogens must be studied in relation to MPB and post-finasteride syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accidental chemical leaks and illegal chemical discharges are a global environmental issue. In 2012, a hydrogen fluoride leak in Gumi, South Korea, killed several people and contaminated the environment. This leak also led to a significant decline in crop yield, even after the soil concentration of hydrogen fluoride decreased to below the standard level following natural attenuation. To determine the cause of this decreased plant productivity, we designed direct and indirect exposure tests by evaluating the metabolome, transcriptome, and phenome of the plants. In an indirect exposure test, soil metabolomics revealed downregulation of metabolites in vitamin B6, lipopolysaccharide, osmolyte, and exopolysaccharide metabolism. Next-generation sequencing of the plants showed that ABR1 and DREB1A were overexpressed in response to stress. Plant metabolomics demonstrated upregulation of folate biosynthesis and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism associated with detoxification of reactive oxygen species. These results demonstrate impaired metabolism of soil microbes and plants even after natural attenuation of hydrogen fluoride in soil. The novel chemical exposure testing used in this study can be applied to identify hidden damage to organisms after natural attenuation of chemicals in soil, as well as biomarkers for explaining the decline in yield of plants grown in soil near pollutant-emitting industrial facilities. [Display omitted] • Hydrogen fluoride inhibits microbial activity in soil even after natural attenuation. • Plants are harmed by reactive oxygen species produced by pH-neutralized soil. • Plants overexpress ABR1 and DREB1A in response to acid stress. • Plants generate reactive oxygen species detoxifiers after hydrogen fluoride exposure. • pH-neutralized soil can cause phenotypic defects and reduce the yield of crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of accidental contamination of soils with phenol, toluene, nitric acid, and hydrogen fluoride (HF) by simulating chemical leakage in the soil with/without rain and characterizing the resulting metabolites and microbial. In the case of acid leakage, pH and cation exchange capacity were decreased, and the content of fluoride ion was increased in case of HF leakage. Using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics analysis, phytosphingosine was detected as a distinguishing metabolite in soils contaminated with phenol and HF in rain conditions. Microbial communities were identified by 16s rRNA metagenome sequencing. Sphingomonas was one of the dominant species in soils contaminated with phenol and HF. These results suggest that phytosphingosine and Sphingomonas might be used as biomarkers to evaluate the status of soils contaminated with phenol or HF. Under simulated rain conditions, the species alpha-diversity index of soil microbes and the physicochemical properties of the soil indicated values close to those of the uncontaminated soil. Rain played an important role in the recovery of microbial and metabolic profiles after chemical accidents. Metabolic profiling and microbial community analysis can serve as a diagnostic tool for ecotoxicological research at chemical accident sites. Image 1 • Chemical contamination in metabolites and microbiota were analyzed in soil columns. • Sphingomonas was one of the dominant species in phenol- and HF-contaminated soil. • Phytosphingosine could be a biomarker in phenol- and HF-contaminated soil. • Rain could recover soil microbial and metabolic profiles after chemical accident. • Metabolic profiling can be effective diagnostic tool for chemical accident sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]