Tuberculosis (TB) is one of three major infectious diseases, and the control of TB is becoming more difficult because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant strains. In this study, we explored the (1)H NMR-based metabolomics of TB using an aerobic TB infection model. Global profiling was applied to characterize the responses of C57Bl/6 mice to an aerobic infection with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The metabolic changes in organs (i.e., the lung, the target organ of TB, and the spleen and liver, remote systemic organs) and in serum from control and MTB-infected rats were investigated to clarify the host-pathogen interactions in MTB-infected host systems. Principal components analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) score plots showed distinct separation between control and MTB-infected rats for all tissue and serum samples. Several tissue and serum metabolites were changed in MTB-infected rats, as compared to control rats. The precursors of membrane phospholipids, phosphocholine, and phosphoethanolamine, as well as glycolysis, amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and the antioxidative stress response were altered based on the presence of MTB infection. This study suggests that NMR-based global metabolite profiling of organ tissues and serum could provide insight into the metabolic changes in host infected aerobically with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

These data showed that (1)H-NMR-based metabolite profiling of serum may be useful for the effective diagnosis of asthma and a further understanding of its pathogenesis.

Background and Purpose-Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability and death in developing countries.However, early diagnosis is difficult and no reliable biomarker is currently available. Thus, we applied a 1 H-NMR metabolomics approach to investigate the altered metabolic pattern in plasma and urine from patients with cerebral infarctions and sought to identify metabolic biomarkers associated with stroke. Methods-Metabolic profiles of plasma and urine from patients with cerebral infarctions, especially small vessel occlusion, were investigated using 1 H-NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis, such as principal components analysis and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis. Results-Multivariate statistical analysis showed a significant separation between patients and healthy individuals. The plasma of stroke patients was characterized by the increased excretion of lactate, pyruvate, glycolate, and formate, and by the decreased excretion of glutamine and methanol; the urine of stroke patients was characterized by decreased levels of citrate, hippurate, and glycine. These metabolites detected from plasma and urine of patients with cerebral infarctions were associated with anaerobic glycolysis, folic acid deficiency, and hyperhomocysteinemia. Furthermore, the presence of cerebral infarction in the external validation model was predicted with high accuracy. Conclusions-These data demonstrate that a metabolomics approach may be useful for the effective diagnosis of cerebral infarction and for the further understanding of stroke pathogenesis.