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Serum metabolomics as a novel diagnostic approach for disease: a systematic review

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Abstract

Metabolomics is a promising “omics” field in systems biology; its objective is comprehensive analysis of low-molecular-weight endogenous metabolites in a biological sample. It could enable mapping of perturbations of early biochemical changes in diseases and hence provide an opportunity to develop predictive biomarkers that could result in earlier intervention and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of diseases. Because of the possible discovery of clinically relevant biomarkers, metabolomics has potential advantages that routine approaches to clinical diagnosis do not. Monitoring specific metabolite levels in serum, the most commonly used biofluid in metabolomics, has become an important way of detecting the early stages of a disease. Serum is a readily accessible and informative biofluid, making it ideal for early detection of a wide range of diseases, and analysis of serum has several advantages over analysis of other biofluids. Metabolite profiles of serum can be regarded as important indicators of physiological and pathological states and may aid understanding of the mechanism of disease occurrence and progression on the metabolic level, and provide information enabling identification of early and differential metabolic markers of disease. Analysis of these crucial metabolites in serum has become important in monitoring the state of biological organisms and is widely used for diagnosis of disease. Emerging metabolomics will drive serum analysis, facilitate and improve the development of disease treatments, and provide great benefits for public health in the long-term.

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Abbreviations

AFP:

Alpha fetal protein

CE:

Capillary electrophoresis

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

EAC:

Esophageal adenocarcinoma

FT-IR:

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

GC:

Gas chromatography

HCC:

Hepatocarcinoma

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

KEGG:

Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

mCRC:

Metastatic colorectal cancer

MS:

Mass spectrometry

NMR:

Nuclear magnetic resonance

PCA:

Principal-components analysis

PLS-DA:

Partial least-squares discriminant analysis

RCC:

Renal cell carcinoma

SLE:

Systemic lupus erythematosus

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Key Program of the Natural Science Foundation of the State (grant no. 90709019), the National Key Program on the Subject of Drug Innovation (grant no. 2009ZX09502-005), the National Specific Program on the Subject of Public Welfare (grant no. 200807014), and the National Program for Key Basic Research Projects in China (grant no. 2005CB523406).

Competing financial interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National TCM Key Lab of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Key Pharmacometabolomics Platform of Chinese Medicines, and Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Heping Road 244, Harbin, 150040, China

    Aihua Zhang & Hui Sun

  2. National TCM Key Lab of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Key Pharmacometabolomics Platform of Chinese Medicines, and Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Heping Road 24, Harbin, 150040, China

    Xijun Wang

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  1. Aihua Zhang
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  2. Hui Sun
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Correspondence to Xijun Wang.

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Zhang, A., Sun, H. & Wang, X. Serum metabolomics as a novel diagnostic approach for disease: a systematic review. Anal Bioanal Chem 404, 1239–1245 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6117-1

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