Next-generation metabolomics (NGM), which has been facilitated by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and high resolution tandem time-of-flight mass spec (TOF/TOF), has the potential to rapidly and comprehensively characterize drug-induced metabolic changes in the biological systems, according to paper published recently in Current Pharmaceutical Design.
The origins of metabolomics can be traced back to the newborn screening of inborn errors of metabolism in clinical chemistry since the 1960s, which was much earlier than genomics and proteomics. With the advancements of separation and mass spectrometry detection techniques, metabolomics is entering into a new era in which researchers can gain more insights about metabolic pathways and their significance in health and disease.
In this paper, Kefeng Li from the University of California, San Diego and the colleagues summarized the analytical platforms for NGM and its main applications in antidepressants R&D. These platforms provide broad coverage of different classes of metabolites, superior detection sensitivity, high resolution, and mass accuracy, he reported.
“We specifically selected albiflorin, a botanical medicine isolated from Peony to demonstrate the practical utility of NGM," Dr. Li explained. Natural products tend to have multiple targets and unpredictable toxicity. NGM analysis showed the potential antidepressant targets of albiflorin. NGM also confirmed the low toxicity of albiflorin. It might need over 5 years of work using traditional approaches to come up with the same conclusion that only needs 1-2 years for NGM. NMG really speeds up the development of albiflorin as a new class of antidepressant.
Despite the tremendous potential of NGM, Dr. Li cautioned that "The bottlenecks of metabolomics have still not been completely solved. Standardization of metabolomic procedures and understanding the biology behind metabolomic big data are required to be further studied."
Image: The researchers studied albiflorin, a botanical medicine isolated from Peony, to demonstrate the practical utility of NGM. Image courtesy of Wiki Commons.