The venom of Habrobracon hebetor induces alterations in host metabolism.

The ability of parasitic wasps to manipulate a host's metabolism is under active investigation. Components of venom play a major role in this process. In the present work, we studied the effect of the venom of the ectoparasitic wasp Habrobracon hebetor on the metabolism of the greater wax moth host (Galleria mellonella).

Loss of Volatile Metabolites during Concentration of Metabolomic Extracts.

Volatile metabolites can be lost during the preanalytical stage of metabolomic analysis. This work is aimed at the experimental and theoretical study of mechanisms of volatile substance evaporation and retention in the residues during the drying of extract solutions. We demonstrate that solvent evaporation leads to the unavoidable loss of nondissociating volatile metabolites with low boiling points and high vapor pressures (such as acetone and ethanol).

Blood Plasma Circulating DNA-Protein Complexes: Involvement in Carcinogenesis and Prospects for Liquid Biopsy of Breast Cancer.

Circulating DNA (cirDNA) is a promising tool in translational medicine. However, studies of cirDNA have neglected its association with proteins, despite ample evidence that this interaction may affect the fate of DNA in the bloodstream and its molecular functions. The goal of the current study is to shed light on the differences between the proteomic cargos of histone-containing nucleoprotein complexes (NPCs) from healthy female (HFs) and breast cancer patients (BCPs), and to reveal the proteins involved in carcinogenesis.

Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Differences in Hypoxia Response between Far Eastern and Siberian Frogs.

Anoxia is a significant challenge for most animals, as it can lead to tissue damage and death. Among amphibians, the Siberian frog is the only known species capable of surviving near-zero levels of oxygen in water for a prolonged period. In this study, we aimed to compare metabolomic profiles of the liver, brain, and heart of the Siberian frog exposed to long-term oxygen deprivation (approximately 0.

Animal Metabolite Database: Metabolite Concentrations in Animal Tissues and Convenient Comparison of Quantitative Metabolomic Data.

The Animal Metabolite Database (AMDB, https://amdb.online) is a freely accessible database with built-in statistical analysis tools, allowing one to browse and compare quantitative metabolomics data and raw NMR and MS data, as well as sample metadata, with a focus on the metabolite concentrations rather than on the raw data itself. AMDB also functions as a platform for the metabolomics community, providing convenient deposition and exchange of quantitative metabolomic data.

Biochemical response of two earthworm taxa exposed to freezing.

Several earthworm species are known to be able to withstand freezing. At the biochemical level, this ability is based on cryoprotectant accumulation as well as several other mechanisms. In this study, we used H NMR to investigate metabolomic changes in two freeze-tolerant earthworm taxa, Dendrobaena octaedra and one of the genetic lineages of Eisenia sp.

Multifunctional fluorescent diarylethene: time-resolved study of photochemistry.

A study of luminescence and photochromic properties of ()-2,3-bis(2,5-dimethylthiophen-3-yl)-5-(4-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)benzylidene)cyclopent-2-en-1-one, which is a diarylethene with a push-pull system between carbonyl and dimethylamino groups, was performed using time-resolved methods. The intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process as well as 6π-electrocyclization and -/-isomerization contribute to the complex light-induced properties of this molecule. Formation of unexpected short-lived intermediates was detected in the time range from 100 fs to 100 μs.

Influence of Ecological Factors on the Metabolomic Composition of Fish Lenses.

Multiple stressors related to changes in environmental conditions (such as water temperature, salinity, and natural and anthropogenic pollution) may cause biological responses of aquatic organisms that lead to significant variations in the biochemical reactions in their tissues and thereby change the concentrations of metabolites. We used a quantitative NMR-based metabolomic analysis of the fish lens for the evaluation of the influence of environmental factors on metabolic processes in aquatic animals. For this purpose, three species of freshwater fish-Perca fluviatilis, Rutilus rutilus lacustris, and Gymnocephalus cernua-were caught at approximately the same time at three locations in Siberia (Russia) that differed in levels of dissolved oxygen (LDO) and water purity, and the concentrations of 57 major metabolites in the fish lenses were determined.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced (NADH) is a natural UV filter of certain bird lens.

In this work, we for the first time report the identification of UV filters in the bird eye lens. We found that lenses of some raptors (black kite, common buzzard) and waterfowl (birds from Podicipedidae family) contain unusually high levels of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-a compound with high absorption in the UV-A range with a maximum at 340 nm. The lens metabolome of these birds also features an extremely low [NAD +]/[NADH] ratio.

Colitis-associated intestinal microbiota regulates brain glycine and host behavior in mice.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract with complex etiology and no strategies for complete cure. IBD are often complicated by mental disorders like anxiety and depression, indicating substantial shifts in the microbiota gut-brain axis. However, the mechanisms connecting IBD to mental diseases are still under debate.

Stability of Metabolomic Content during Sample Preparation: Blood and Brain Tissues.

Thermal and enzymatic reactions can significantly change the tissue metabolomic content during the sample preparation. In this work, we evaluated the stability of metabolites in human whole blood, serum, and rat brain, as well as in metabolomic extracts from these tissues. We measured the concentrations of 63 metabolites in brain and 52 metabolites in blood.

The Application of Quantitative Metabolomics for the Taxonomic Differentiation of Birds.

In the current pilot study, we propose the use of quantitative metabolomics to reconstruct the phylogeny of vertebrates, namely birds. We determined the concentrations of the 67 most abundant metabolites in the eye lenses of the following 14 species from 6 orders of the class Aves (Birds): the Black kite (), Eurasian magpie (), Northern raven (), Eurasian coot (), Godlewski's bunting (), Great crested grebe (), Great tit (), Hawfinch (), Hooded crow (), House sparrow (), Rock dove (), Rook (), Short-eared owl () and Ural owl (). Further analysis shows that the statistical approaches generally used in metabolomics can be applied for differentiation between species, and the most fruitful results were obtained with hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA).

Metabolomic Analysis Reveals That the Moor Frog Uses Both Glucose and Glycerol as Cryoprotectants.

The moor frog is one of a few amphibians that can tolerate freezing to low temperatures, up to -16 °C. In this study, we performed metabolomic analysis of the liver and hindlimb muscles of frozen and control . We found that the moor frog synthesizes glucose and glycerol in similar concentrations as low molecular weight cryoprotectants.

Biochemical Response to Freezing in the Siberian Salamander .

The Siberian salamander Dybowski, 1870 is a unique amphibian that is capable to survive long-term freezing at -55 °C. Nothing is known on the biochemical basis of this remarkable freezing tolerance, except for the fact that it uses glycerol as a low molecular weight cryoprotectant. We used H-NMR analysis to study quantitative changes of multiple metabolites in liver and hindlimb muscle of in response to freezing.

Kinetic Studies of Antioxidant Properties of Ovothiol A.

Ovothiol A (OSH) is one of the strongest natural antioxidants. So far, its presence was found in tissues of marine invertebrates, algae and fish. Due to very low pKa value of the SH group, under physiological conditions, this compound is almost entirely present in chemically active thiolate form and reacts with ROS and radicals significantly faster than other natural thiols.

A previously unknown way of heme detoxification in the digestive tract of cats.

Free heme is a highly toxic molecule for a living organism and its detoxification is a very important process, especially for carnivorous animals. Here we report the discovery of a previously unknown process for neutralizing free heme in the digestive tract of domestic cats. The cornerstone of this process is the encapsulation of heme into carbonated hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, followed by their excretion with faeces.

Comparative Metabolomic Profiling of Rat Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Metabolomic profiles of somatic cells, embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reflect their metabolic phenotypes. The comparative study of metabolomes of these cells is important for understanding the differences in metabolism between somatic and pluripotent cells, and also the possible differences between ESCs and iPSCs. Here, we performed for the first time the metabolomic analysis of rat ESCs, iPSCs, and embryonic fibroblasts (EFs) at both quantitative and semi-quantitative levels using NMR spectroscopy and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection, respectively.

Application of EPR to porphyrin-protein agents for photodynamic therapy.

Recently, a new type of spin labels based on photoexcited triplet molecules was proposed for nanometer scale distance measurements by pulsed dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance (PD EPR). However, such molecules are also actively used within biological complexes as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer. Up to date, the idea of using the photoexcited triplets simultaneously as PDT agents and as spin labels for PD EPR has never been employed.

Metabolic response of the Siberian wood frog Rana amurensis to extreme hypoxia.

The Siberian wood frog Rana amurensis is a recently discovered example of extreme hypoxia tolerance that is able to survive several months without oxygen. We studied metabolomic profiles of heart and liver of R. amurensis exposed to 17 days of extreme hypoxia.

Fucose Ameliorates Tryptophan Metabolism and Behavioral Abnormalities in a Mouse Model of Chronic Colitis.

Growing evidence suggests that intestinal mucosa homeostasis impacts immunity, metabolism, the Central Nervous System (CNS), and behavior. Here, we investigated the effect of the monosaccharide fucose on inflammation, metabolism, intestinal microbiota, and social behavior in the Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-induced chronic colitis mouse model. Our data show that chronic colitis is accompanied by the decrease of the serum tryptophan level and the depletion of the intestinal microbiota, specifically tryptophan-producing and .

Deep Learning for the Precise Peak Detection in High-Resolution LC-MS Data.

This letter is devoted to the application of machine learning, namely, convolutional neural networks to solve problems in the initial steps of the common pipeline for data analysis in metabolomics. These steps are the peak detection and the peak integration in raw liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data. Widely used algorithms suffer from rather poor precision for these tasks, yielding many false positive signals.

UV-A induced damage to lysozyme via Type I photochemical reactions sensitized by kynurenic acid.

In this work we studied the mechanisms of Type I photodamage to a model protein, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), sensitized by kynurenic acid (KNA) - one of the most efficient photosensitizers of the human eye lens present in trace amounts within tissue. The kynurenic acid radical, KNA, formed in the quenching of triplet KNA by HEWL, can be readily oxidized by molecular oxygen with the formation of superoxide anion radical O. This leads to two ways of damage to proteins: either via the direct reactions between KNA and HEWL radicals (Type Ia) or via the reactions between superoxide anion O and HEWL radicals (Type Ib).

A novel method of sample homogenization with the use of a microtome-cryostat apparatus.

Quantitative metabolomics places high demands on sample preparation, including a high degree of metabolite extraction and controlled sample weight. In respect to elastic collagen-rich tissues, the existing methods of sample homogenization poorly fit these demands due to incomplete homogenization, sample material loss, or metabolite degradation. Herein, a novel method based on the use of a microtome-cryostat apparatus is proposed.