Insights into the nutritional value of honeybee drone larvae (Apis mellifera) through proteomic profiling.

There is a growing interest and demand for insect-based foods. Edible insects are rich in protein and other nutrients, making them valuable in the daily diet. However, their composition is not yet fully characterised.

Exercise-induced response of proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic plasma free amino acids is sport-specific: A comparison of sprint and endurance athletes.

Circulating blood is an important plasma free amino acids (PFAAs) reservoir and a pivotal link between metabolic pathways. No comparisons are available between athletes with opposite training adaptations that include a broader spectrum of both proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic amino acids, and that take into account skeletal muscle mass. We hypothesized that the levels of the exercise-induced PFAAs concentration are related to the type of training-related metabolic adaptation.

Changes in Plasma Free Amino Acid Profile in Endurance Athletes over a 9-Month Training Cycle.

We aimed to evaluate long-term changes in proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic plasma free amino acids (PFAA). Eleven male endurance triathletes participated in a 9-month study. Blood was collected at rest, immediately after exhaustive exercise, and during 30-min recovery, in four consecutive training phases: transition, general, specific, and competition.

Metabolomics-based search for lung cancer markers among patients with different smoking status.

Tobacco smoking is the main etiological factor of lung cancer (LC), which can also cause metabolome disruption. This study aimed to investigate whether the observed metabolic shift in LC patients was also associated with their smoking status. Untargeted metabolomics profiling was applied for the initial screening of changes in serum metabolic profile between LC and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, selected as a non-cancer group.

A Review of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Studies for the Assessment of Over-the-Counter Medicines Used as Recreational Drugs: The Example of Dextromethorphan.

The 'recreational use' of selected over-the-counter (OTC) medicines is an unofficial activity. The traditional surveys assessing the use of drugs are affected by the bias of underreporting and are thus unreliable. The development of analytical techniques helps to monitor the substances at trace levels, such as in wastewater, and might be applied to estimate the consumption of an analyte of interest and ensure additional, evidence-based information complementary to population surveys.

Serum Proteomic Profiles of Patients with High and Low Risk of Endometrial Cancer Recurrence.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Classifying endometrial cancer into low- or high-risk groups based on the following features is recommended: tumor grade, lymphovascular space invasion, myometrial involvement, and non-endometrioid histology. Despite the recent progress in molecular profiling of endometrial cancer, a substantial group of patients are misclassified based on the current criteria.

Mass spectrometry imaging in gynecological cancers: the best is yet to come.

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) enables obtaining multidimensional results simultaneously in a single run, including regiospecificity and m/z values corresponding with specific proteins, peptides, lipids, etc. The knowledge obtained in this way allows for a multifaceted analysis of the studied issue, e.g.

The Metabolomic Approach Reveals the Alteration in Human Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid Composition in Parkinson's Disease Patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major public health problem. Since currently there are no reliable diagnostic tools to reveal the early steps of PD, new methods should be developed, including those searching the variations in human metabolome. Alterations in human metabolites could help to establish an earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

Free Amino Acid Alterations in Patients with Gynecological and Breast Cancer: A Review.

Gynecological and breast cancers still remain a significant health problem worldwide. Diagnostic methods are not sensitive and specific enough to detect the disease at an early stage. During carcinogenesis and tumor progression, the cellular need for DNA and protein synthesis increases leading to changes in the levels of amino acids.

Multielemental Analysis of Bee Pollen, Propolis, and Royal Jelly Collected in West-Central Poland.

Beehive products possess nutritional value and health-promoting properties and are recommended as so-called "superfoods". However, because of their natural origin, they may contain relevant elemental contaminants. Therefore, to assess the quality of bee products, we examined concentrations of a broad range of 24 selected elements in propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly.

Serum Free Amino Acid Profiling in Differential Diagnosis of Ovarian Tumors-A Comparative Study with Review of the Literature.

Proper preoperative ovarian cancer (OC) diagnosis remains challenging. Serum free amino acid (SFAA) profiles were investigated to identify potential novel biomarkers of OC and assess their performance in ovarian tumor differential diagnosis. Serum samples were divided based on the histopathological result: epithelial OC ( = 38), borderline ovarian tumors ( = 6), and benign ovarian tumors (BOTs) ( = 62).

MALDI-TOF Protein Profiling Reflects Changes in Type 1 Diabetes Patients Depending on the Increased Amount of Adipose Tissue, Poor Control of Diabetes and the Presence of Chronic Complications.

Introduction: Protein profiling allows the determination of the presence of proteins marking various stages of the disease, and differentiates between people at risk of various diseases. In type 1 diabetes, protein profiling had been previously used to find blood markers other than islet autoantibodies to indicate the pancreatic beta cell destruction process and to reflect the progression of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). However, T1DM is an auto-immune disease and its clinical presentation changes in time of its duration.

Identification and quantification of honeybee venom constituents by multiplatform metabolomics.

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom (HBV) has been a subject of extensive proteomics research; however, scarce information on its metabolite composition can be found in the literature. The aim of the study was to identify and quantify the metabolites present in HBV. To gain the highest metabolite coverage, three different mass spectrometry (MS)-based methodologies were applied.

MALDI-MSI-A Step Forward in Overcoming the Diagnostic Challenges in Ovarian Tumors.

This study presents the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) directly on the tissue of two ovarian tumors that often present a diagnostic challenge, a low-grade serous borderline ovarian tumor and ovarian fibrothecoma. Different spatial distribution of m/z values within the tissue samples was observed, and regiospecific peaks were identified. Among the 106 peaks in the borderline ovarian tumor five, regiospecific peaks (m/z: 2861.

Development of an LC-MS Targeted Metabolomics Methodology to Study Proline Metabolism in Mammalian Cell Cultures.

A growing interest in metabolomics studies of cultured cells requires development not only untargeted methods capable of fingerprinting the complete metabolite profile but also targeted methods enabling the precise and accurate determination of a selected group of metabolites. Proline metabolism affects many crucial processes at the cellular level, including collagen biosynthesis, redox balance, energetic processes as well as intracellular signaling. The study aimed to develop a robust and easy-to-use targeted metabolomics method for the determination of the intracellular level of proline and the other two amino acids closely related to proline metabolism: glutamic acid and arginine.

Alterations in Serum-Free Amino Acid Profiles in Childhood Asthma.

Asthma often begins in childhood, although making an early diagnosis is difficult. Clinical manifestations, the exclusion of other causes of bronchial obstruction, and responsiveness to anti-inflammatory therapy are the main tool of diagnosis. However, novel, precise, and functional biochemical markers are needed in the differentiation of asthma phenotypes, endotypes, and creating personalized therapy.

Urban wastewater analysis as an effective tool for monitoring illegal drugs, including new psychoactive substances, in the Eastern European region.

The use of illicit drugs causes unquestionable societal and economic damage. To implement actions aimed at combating drug abuse, it is necessary to assess illicit drug consumption patterns. The purpose of this paper was to develop, optimize, validate and apply a procedure for determining new psychoactive substances (NPSs) and classic drugs of abuse and their main metabolites in wastewater samples by using solid phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS).

Proline-Dependent Induction of Apoptosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC)-The Effect of Celecoxib.

: Oral squamous cell carcinoma remains a significant worldwide public health challenge, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Treatment of this type of cancer lacks effective medication. Moreover, there are very few specific biomarkers that are useful in early diagnosis or treatment optimisation.

Extending Metabolomic Studies of Venom: LC-MS-Based Targeted Analysis of Organic Acids.

Organic acids are important active small molecules present in venoms and toxins, which have not been fully explored yet. The aim of the study was the determination of organic acids in honeybee venom (HBV) samples by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Two protocols for sample preparation were employed.

Proteomic features characterization of venom allergy.

Background: venom allergy is one of the most frequent causes of anaphylaxis. In its most severe form, the reaction to wasp and honey bee stings may be life-threatening. Therefore, immediate and proper diagnosis of venom allergy and implementation of suitable therapy are extremely important.

Fibrous Hamartoma of Infancy in the Scrotum.

Fibrous hamartoma of infancy is a solid benign tumor of the subcutis, which usually occurs within the first 2 years of life. It predominantly occurs in males, and is clinically presented as a solid, painless, well-limited subcutaneous formation, tending to grow, and in most cases without any symptoms. It occurs in various locations.

CSF Proteomics of Patients with Hydrocephalus and Subarachnoid Haemorrhage.

Background: The pathophysiology of brain injury following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is associated with numerous mediators. The aim of the study is to analyse protein changes after SAH in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using mass spectrometry (MS).

Methods: CSF samples were obtained from forty-four control subjects, seven good outcome and ten poor outcome SAH patients.

Serum lipidome screening in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

The ability of early lung cancer diagnosis is an unmet need in clinical practice. Lung cancer metabolomic analyses conducted so far have demonstrated several abnormalities in cancer lipid profile providing a rationale for further study of blood lipidome of the patients. In the present research, we performed a targeted lipidome screening to select molecules that show promise for early lung cancer detection.