A high throughput metabolomics method and its application in female serum samples in a normal menstrual cycle based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Talanta. 2018 Aug 1:185:483-490. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2018.03.087. Epub 2018 Mar 28.

Abstract

Periodical changes of steroid hormones have a great impact on the homeostasis of the female. However, there are few studies concerning the metabolome changes during the cycle. To study the periodic metabolic changes, a female cohort was enrolled with time-series serum samples collected during a menstrual cycle. To meet the requirement of the large-scale sample analysis, a high throughput metabolomics method was established by using an efficient sample preparation on a 96 well filter plate and a rapid LC condition in 12 min, which reduces about 70% of the samples preprocessing time and 60% analysis time. Evaluation of metabolite coverage and separation performances reflected that the method was robust for the large-scale metabolomics study. Using this method, we found that 12.6% of total detected ions including lipids, amino acids, citric acid, and so on were significantly changed during a menstrual cycle. Some metabolites were found periodically changed, which is similar to hormones (estrone and progesterone) during the cycle. These results show the novel high throughput method can be applied in large-scale metabolomics studies.

Keywords: 96 well filter plate; High throughput; Hormones; Large-scale; Menstrual cycle; Metabolomics.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Amino Acids / blood
  • Amino Acids / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Citric Acid / blood
  • Citric Acid / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Healthy Volunteers
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays*
  • Humans
  • Lipids / blood*
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Menstrual Cycle*
  • Metabolomics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Lipids
  • Citric Acid