Swanepoel Albe, Bester Janette, Kruger Yolanda, Davoren Elmarie, du Preez Ilse
Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Metabolomics. 2021 Aug 19;17(9):75. doi: 10.1007/s11306-021-01825-z.
Metabolome variations have long been associated with normal hormonal fluctuations, and similar effects, related to the use of early generation synthetic hormones as a means of contraception, have also been identified.
We investigated the serum amino acid and acylcarnitine profiles induced by the use of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) consisting of Ethinylestradiol (EE) and a 4th generation progestin, Drospirenone (DRSP).
Gas chromatography mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify the serum amino acids and acyl carnitine levels in 24 controls, 25 DRSP/20EE users and 26 DRSP/30EE users.
Of the 26 amino acid compounds measured, 13 showed significant variations in abundance between the control and COC user groups. Although none of the 21 acylcarnitine compounds detected were statistically significant with regards to group variations, a trend, related the EE concentration, was observed. The detected metabolome disparities corresponded to that identified for earlier generation COCs, all pointing toward increased oxidative stress levels in the user groups.
These findings suggest that the clinical complications associated with these COCs could, to some extent, be alleviated by the simultaneous use of antioxidants. The study also highlights the role that targeted metabolomics could play in the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms of drug-induced severe effects.
代谢组变化长期以来一直与正常的激素波动相关，并且与使用早期合成激素作为避孕手段相关的类似影响也已被发现。
我们研究了由炔雌醇（EE）和第四代孕激素屈螺酮（DRSP）组成的复方口服避孕药（COC）使用所诱导的血清氨基酸和酰基肉碱谱。
采用气相色谱 - 质谱联用和液相色谱 - 串联质谱法来鉴定和定量24名对照者、25名DRSP/20EE使用者和26名DRSP/30EE使用者的血清氨基酸和酰基肉碱水平。
在所测量的26种氨基酸化合物中，有13种在对照组和COC使用者组之间的丰度存在显著差异。尽管检测到的21种酰基肉碱化合物在组间差异方面均无统计学意义，但观察到了与EE浓度相关的一种趋势。检测到的代谢组差异与早期COC所确定的差异一致，所有这些都表明使用者组中氧化应激水平升高。
这些发现表明，与这些COC相关的临床并发症在一定程度上可以通过同时使用抗氧化剂来缓解。该研究还强调了靶向代谢组学在阐明药物诱导的严重效应潜在机制方面可能发挥的作用。
