Biochemical effects of gadolinium chloride in rats liver and kidney studied by 1H NMR metabolomics

Gadoteric Acid and Gadolinium: Exploring Short- and Long-Term Effects on Healthy Animals

Regarding the safety of gadolinium (Gd (III))-based contrast agents, we aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects following a single exposure to gadoteric acid (DOTA) or to free Gd (III) using animal models. Biomarkers of kidney injury, inflammation, iron metabolism, dyslipidemia, hepatic and hematologic disturbances and kidney histopathological and differential gene expression (DGE) analyses were evaluated. In the short-term study, compared to the controls, exposure to Gd (III) was associated with higher inflammation; changes in lipid, iron and hepatic metabolisms; hematological alterations; and kidney damage. Exposure to DOTA revealed changes in hematological, lipid and hepatic biomarkers. In the long-term study, compared to the controls, exposure to Gd (III) or to DOTA showed much fewer changes than the short-term exposure. Comparing the kidney gene expression of Gd (III) or DOTA exposure versus the control, we found clearly different DGE patterns and a lower number of differently expressed genes in the long-term study, for both compounds. Our data show that a single-dose exposure to these compounds induces several short-term changes which over time return to normal or are sustained, although with less severity, especially in the case of DOTA.

Toxicity Mechanisms of Gadolinium and Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents-A Review

Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) have been used for more than 30 years to improve magnetic resonance imaging, a crucial tool for medical diagnosis and treatment monitoring across multiple clinical settings. Studies have shown that exposure to GBCAs is associated with gadolinium release and tissue deposition that may cause short- and long-term toxicity in several organs, including the kidney, the main excretion organ of most GBCAs. Considering the increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease worldwide and that most of the complications following GBCA exposure are associated with renal dysfunction, the mechanisms underlying GBCA toxicity, especially renal toxicity, are particularly important. A better understanding of the gadolinium mechanisms of toxicity may contribute to clarify the safety and/or potential risks associated with the use of GBCAs. In this work, a review of the recent literature concerning gadolinium and GBCA mechanisms of toxicity was performed.

1H NMR studies on serum metabonomic changes over time in a kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome model

The central aim of this study was to investigate metabolite changes in metabolic pathwaysviametabonomic approaches in rats suffering from Kidney-Yang Deficiency Syndrome (KYDS) induced by hydrocortisone.

The hematinic effect of Colla corii asini (Ejiao) using 1H-NMR metabolomics coupled with correlation analysis in APH-induced anemic rats

Colla corii asini (Ejiao), a gelatin-like food and drug obtained from Equus asinus Linnaeus, has been widely used in clinical hematic antianemic therapy for more than 2000 years.

Kidney Tissue Targeted Metabolic Profiling of Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction Rats by NMR

Renal interstitial fibrosis is a common pathological process in the progression of kidney disease. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomic approach was used to analyze the kidney tissues of rats with renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF), induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). The combination of a variety of statistical methods were used to screen out 14 significantly changed potential metabolites, which are related with multiple biochemical processes including amino acid metabolism, adenine metabolism, energy metabolism, osmolyte change and induced oxidative stress. The exploration of the contralateral kidneys enhanced the understanding of the disease, which was also supported by serum biochemistry and kidney histopathology results. In addition, the pathological parameters (clinical chemistry, histological and immunohistochemistry results) were correlated with the significantly changed differential metabolites related with RIF. This study showed that targeted tissue metabolomic analysis can be used as a useful tool to understand the mechanism of the disease and provide a novel insight in the pathogenesis of RIF.

(1)H NMR-based metabolic profiling of liver in chronic unpredictable mild stress rats with genipin treatment

Genipin, a hydrolyzed metabolite of geniposide extracted from the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, has shown promise in alleviating depressive symptoms, however, the antidepressant mechanism of genipin remains unclear and incomprehensive. In this study, the metabolic profiles of aqueous and lipophilic extracts in liver of the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced rat with genipin treatment were investigated using proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis. Significant differences in the metabolic profiles of rats in the CUMS model group (MS) and the control group (NS) were observed with metabolic effects including decreasing in choline, glycerol and glycogen, increasing in lactate, alanine and succinate, and a disordered lipid metabolism, while the moderate dose (50mg/kg) of genipin could significantly regulate the concentrations of glycerol, lactate, alanine, succinate and the lipid to their normal levels. These biomakers were involved in metabolism pathways such as glycolysis/gluconeogensis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and lipid metabolism, which may be helpful for understanding of antidepressant mechanism of genipin.

1H-NMR-based metabonomic studies on the anti-depressant effect of genipin in the chronic unpredictable mild stress rat model

The purpose of this work was to investigate the anti-depressant effect of genipin and its mechanisms using (1)H-NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis on a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model. Rat serum and urine were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomics after oral administration of either genipin or saline for 2 weeks. Significant differences in the metabolic profile of the CUMS-treated group and the control group were observed, which were consistent with the results of behavioral tests. Metabolic effects of CUMS included decreases in serum trimetlylamine oxide (TMAO) and β-hydroxybutyric acid (β-HB), and increases in lipid, lactate, alanine and N-acetyl-glycoproteins. In urine, decreases in creatinine and betaine were observed, while citrate, trimethylamine (TMA) and dimethylamine were increased. These changes suggest that depression may be associated with gut microbes, energy metabolism and glycometabolism. Genipin showed the best anti-depressive effects at a dose of 100 mg/kg in rats. These results indicate that metabonomic approaches could be powerful tools for the investigation of the biochemical changes in pathological conditions or drug treatment.

Differential biochemical response of rat kidney towards low and high doses of NiCl2 as revealed by NMR spectroscopy

Heavy metals are known for their associated nephrotoxicity and nickel is no exception. An integrated metabonomic approach, based on high-resolution (1) H NMR spectroscopy, was applied to determine the acute biochemical effects of NiCl(2) on the renal tissues of rats. Kidney homogenates from rats treated with NiCl(2) at two dose levels (4 and 20 mg kg(-1) b.w., i.p.) and those from controls were analysed using (1) H NMR spectroscopy and also assessed for antioxidant parameters at days 1, 3 and 5 post-dose. The major metabolite changes corresponding to nickel exposure were related to amino acids, osmolytes and energy metabolites. Differential responses were observed in (1) H NMR spectra with exposure to low and high doses of NiCl(2). For high doses, (1) H NMR spectral analysis revealed alterations in renal tissues, along with damage to the cortical and papillary region and depletion of renal osmolytes such as betaine, trimethyl amine oxide, myo-inositol and taurine, which persisted until day 5 post-dose. The metabolite profile of (1) H NMR spectra obtained from animals treated with lower dose of NiCl(2) initially increased as an immediate stress response and then showed signs of recovery with the passage of time. NMR spectral analysis was well corroborated with histopathological and oxidative stress results. Nickel-induced oxidative stress was observed in both groups of animals with increased levels of antioxidant parameters at initial time points, but continued to increase in the high-dose group. The present study shows a huge potential of metabonomics for mapping organ-based metabolic response during heavy metal toxicity.

Metabolomics and its application to studying metal toxicity

Here we explain the omics approach of metabolomics and how it can be applied to study a physiological response to toxic metal exposure. This review aims to educate the metallomics field to the tool of metabolomics. Metabolomics is becoming an increasingly used tool to compare natural and challenged states of various organisms, from disease states in humans to toxin exposure to environmental systems. This approach is key to understanding and identifying the cellular or biochemical targets of metals and the underlying physiological response. Metabolomics steps are described and overviews of its application to metal toxicity to organisms are given. As this approach is very new there are yet only a small number of total studies and therefore only a brief overview of some metal metabolomics studies is described. A frank critical evaluation of the approach is given to provide newcomers to the method a clear idea of the challenges and the rewards of applying metabolomics to their research.