UPLC/Q-TOF MS-Based Urine Metabonomics Study to Identify Diffuse Axonal Injury Biomarkers in Rat

Abstract

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) represents a frequent traumatic brain injury (TBI) type, significantly contributing to the dismal neurological prognosis and high mortality in TBI patients. The increase in mortality can be associated with delayed and nonspecific initial symptoms in DAI patients. Additionally, the existing approaches for diagnosis and monitoring are either low sensitivity or high cost. Therefore, novel, reliable, and objective diagnostic markers should be developed to diagnose and monitor DAI prognosis. Urine is an optimal sample to detect biomarkers for DAI noninvasively. Therefore, the DAI rat model was established in this work. Meanwhile, the ultraperformance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight hybrid mass spectrometry- (UPLC/Q-TOF MS-) untargeted metabolomics approach was utilized to identify the features of urine metabolomics to diagnose DAI. This work included 57 metabolites with significant alterations and 21 abnormal metabolic pathways from the injury groups. Three metabolites, viz., urea, butyric acid, and taurine, were identified as possible biomarkers to diagnose DAI based on the great fold changes (FCs) and biological functions during DAI. The present study detected several novel biomarkers for noninvasively diagnosing and monitoring DAI and helped understand the DAI-associated metabolic events.

Anti-inflammatory and protective effects of Pimpinella candolleana on ulcerative colitis in rats: a comprehensive study of quality, chemical composition, and molecular mechanisms

“…In this study, we endeavored to elucidate the anti-inflammatory mechanism and therapeutic impact of P. candolleana on UC by employing an integrated approach encompassing quality evaluation, network pharmacology, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, molecular docking and in vivo experiments (Zhao et al, 2022;He et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2022). To establish preliminary quality evaluation standards for P. candolleana, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of its macroscopic and microscopic features, thin layer chromatography, moisture content, ash content, extractability, and total polysaccharide content, as outlined in the "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" (2020 edition).…”