Development and application of analytical methods for metabolomics

Metabolomics is an integral part of the broader field of systems biology and has attracted increasing interest for studies in important life science disciplines such as pharmacy, toxicology and medicine. The metabolome is the set of all endo- and exogenous small molecular mass organic compounds (Mr < 1500) found in a given biological media. As metabolites are the ultimate downstream products of genomic, transcriptomic, and/or proteomic perturbations, changes in metabolite concentration and/or flux can reveal biologically relevant changes to the system. Thus, the primary task of metabolomics is the identification of markers or signatures that are characteristic for a defined biological system.

We are using GC/MS and LC/MS/MS as analytical techniques for qualitative and quantitative metabolome analysis. Several assays are available for immediate application. For other targets, an assay development service is provided. Please contact Herbert Oberacher for more information.

Scientific studies

The following publications provide examples for the successful application of our analytical expertise to scientific studies:

1. Blasko, I., Defrancesco, M., Oberacher, H., Loacker, L., Kemmler, G., Marksteiner, J., Humpel, C. Plasma Phosphatidylcholines and Vitamin B12/Folate Levels are Possible Prognostic Biomarkers for Progression of Alzheimer´s Disease Experimental Gerontology, 147 (2021), 111264.
2. Hoang, T. M. Q, Nguyen, V. K., Oberacher, H., Fuchs, D., Hernandez-Vargas, E. A., Borucki, K., Waldburg, N., Wippermann, J., Schreiber, J., Bruder, D., Veluswamy, P. Serum Concentration of the Phytohormone Abscisic Acid is Associated with Immune Regulatory Mediators and is a Potential Biomarker of Disease Severity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Frontiers in Medicine, Section Pulmonary Medicine, 8 (2021), 676058
3. Hüfner, K., Galffy, M., Egeter, J., Giesinger, J., Arnhard, K., Oberacher, H., Gostner, J., Fuchs, D., Sperner-Unterweger, B. Acute and Chronic Mental Stress Both Influence Levels of Neurotransmitter Precursor Amino Acids and Derived Biogenic Amines Brain Sciences - Clinical Neuroscience, 10 (2020), 322.
4. Ho, W. M., Görke, A. S., Glodny, B., Oberacher, H., Helbok, R., Thome, C., Petr, O. Time Course of Early Metabolomic Alterations in Cerebrospinal Fluid After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Frontiers in Neurology, Section Endovascular and Interventional Neurology, 11 (2020), 589.
5. Foidl, B. M., Oberacher, H., Marksteiner, J., Humpel, H. Platelet and Plasma Phosphatidylcholines as Biomarkers to Diagnose Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Frontiers in Neurology - Section Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology, 11 (2020), 359.
6. Gerner, R. R. Macheiner, S., Reider, S., Siegmund, K., Grabherr, F., Mayr, L., Texler, B., Moser, P., Effenberger, M., Schwaighofer, H., Moschen, A. R, Kircher B., Oberacher, H., Zeiser, R., Tilg, H., Nachbaur, D. Targeting NAD Immunometabolism Limits Severe Graft-versus-host Disease and Has Potent Antileukemic Activity Leukemia, 34 (2020), 1885-1897.
7. Hagenbuchner, J., Oberacher, H., Arnhard, K., Kiechl-Kohlendorfer, U., Ausserlechner, M. J.* Modulation of Respiration and Mitochondrial Dynamics by Smac-mimetics for Combination Therapy in Chemoresistant Cancer Theranostics, 9 (2019), 4909-4922.
8. De Picker, L., Fransen, E., Coppens, V., Timmers, M., de Boer, P., Oberacher, H., Fuchs, D., Verkerk, R. Sabbe, B., Morrens, M. Immune and Neuroendocrine Trait and State Markers in Psychotic Illness: Decreased Kynurenines Marking Psychotic Exacerbations Frontiers in Immunology - Section Inflammation, 10 (2020), 2971.
9. De Picker, L., Ottoy, J., Verhaeghe, J., Deleye, S., Wyffels, L., Fransen, E., Kosten, L., Sabbe, B., Coppens, V., Timmers, M., de Boer, P., Van Nueten, L., Op De Beeck, K., Oberacher, H., Vanhoenacker, F., Ceyssens, S., Stroobants, S., Staelens, S., Morrens, M. State-associated Changes in Longitudinal 18F-PBR111 TSPO PET Imaging of Psychosis Patients: Evidence for the Accelerated Ageing Hypothesis? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 77 (2019), 46-54.
10. Marksteiner, J., Oberacher, H., Humpel, C. Acyl-alkyl-phosphatidlycholines Are Decreased in Saliva of Alzheimer´s Disease as Identified by Targeted Metabolomics Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 68 (2019), 583-589.
11. Arnhard, K., Pitterl, F., Sperner-Unterweger, B., Fuchs, D., Koal, T., Oberacher, H.
    A Validated Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for the Simultaneous Quantitation of Tryptophan, Kynurenine, Kynurenic Acid and Quinolinic Acid in Human Plasma
    Electrophoresis, 39 (2018), 1171-1180.
12. Gerner, R. R., Klepsch, V., Macheiner, S., Arnhard, K., Adolph, A. E., Grander, C., Wieser, V., Pfister, A., Moser, P., Hermann-Kleiter, N., Baier, G., Oberacher, H., Tilg, H., Moschen, A. R.
    NAD Metabolism Fuels Human and Mouse Intestinal Inflammation
    Gut, 67 (2018), 1813-1823.
13. Weber, A. Klocker, H., Oberacher, H., Gnaiger, E., Neuwirt, H., Sampson, N., Eder, I. E.
    Succinate Accumulation Is Associated with a Shift of Mitochondrial Respiratory Control and HIF-1 Upregulation in PTEN Negative Prostate Cancer Cells
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19 (2018), 2129.
14. Doppler, C., Arnhard, K., Dumfarth, J., Heinz, K., Messner, B., Stern, C., Koal, T., Klavins, K., Danzl, K., Pitterl, F., Grimm, M., Oberacher, H., Bernhard, D.
    Metabolomic Profiling of Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Dissections - Implications for Pathophysiology and Biomarker Search
    PLOS One, 12 (2017), e0176727.
15. Oberacher, H., Arnhard, K., Linhart, C., Diwo, A., Marksteiner, J., Humpel, C.
    Targeted Metabolomic Analysis of Soluble Lysates from Platelets of Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Compared to Healthy Controls: Is PC aeC40:4 a Promising Diagnostic Tool?
    Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 57 (2017), 493-504