National TCM Key Lab of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Key Pharmacometabolomics Platform of Chinese Medicines, and Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2012 Sep;404(4):1239-45. doi: 10.1007/s00216-012-6117-1. Epub 2012 May 31.
Metabolomics is a promising "omics" field in systems biology; its objective is comprehensive analysis of low-molecular-weight endogenous metabolites in a biological sample. It could enable mapping of perturbations of early biochemical changes in diseases and hence provide an opportunity to develop predictive biomarkers that could result in earlier intervention and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of diseases. Because of the possible discovery of clinically relevant biomarkers, metabolomics has potential advantages that routine approaches to clinical diagnosis do not. Monitoring specific metabolite levels in serum, the most commonly used biofluid in metabolomics, has become an important way of detecting the early stages of a disease. Serum is a readily accessible and informative biofluid, making it ideal for early detection of a wide range of diseases, and analysis of serum has several advantages over analysis of other biofluids. Metabolite profiles of serum can be regarded as important indicators of physiological and pathological states and may aid understanding of the mechanism of disease occurrence and progression on the metabolic level, and provide information enabling identification of early and differential metabolic markers of disease. Analysis of these crucial metabolites in serum has become important in monitoring the state of biological organisms and is widely used for diagnosis of disease. Emerging metabolomics will drive serum analysis, facilitate and improve the development of disease treatments, and provide great benefits for public health in the long-term.
代谢组学是系统生物学中极具前景的“组学”领域；其目标是全面分析生物样本中低分子量内源性代谢物。它可以实现对疾病早期生化变化干扰的映射，从而提供开发预测性生物标志物的机会，这可能导致更早的干预，并深入了解疾病的机制。由于可能发现有临床相关性的生物标志物，代谢组学具有常规临床诊断方法所不具备的潜在优势。监测血清中特定代谢物水平（代谢组学中最常用的生物流体）已成为检测疾病早期阶段的重要手段。血清是一种易于获取且信息量丰富的生物流体，非常适合早期检测多种疾病，并且与分析其他生物流体相比，分析血清具有多个优势。血清的代谢物图谱可以作为生理和病理状态的重要指标，有助于从代谢水平理解疾病发生和进展的机制，并提供有助于识别疾病早期和差异化代谢标志物的信息。对这些关键血清代谢物的分析在监测生物机体状态方面变得很重要，并且广泛用于疾病诊断。新兴的代谢组学将推动血清分析，促进和改善疾病治疗的发展，并从长期来看为公共健康带来巨大益处。
