NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomic study of serum in sulfur mustard exposed patients with lung disease

Abstract

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a vesication chemical warfare agent for which there is currently no antidote. Despite years of research, there is no common consensus about the pathophysiological basis of chronic pulmonary disease caused by this chemical warfare agent. In this study, we combined chemometric techniques with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to explore the metabolic profile of sera from SM-exposed patients. A total of 29 serum samples obtained from 17 SM-injured patients, and 12 healthy controls were analyzed by Random Forest. Increased concentrations of seven amino acids, glycerol, dimethylamine, ketone bodies, lactate, acetate, citrulline and creatine together with the decreased very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) levels were observed in patients compared with control subjects. Our study reveals the metabolic profile of sera from SM-injured patients and indicates that NMR-based methods can distinguish these patients from healthy controls.

Keywords:

• Human serum
• metabolomics
• mustard gas
• nuclear magnetic resonance

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the staff of Sasan Hospital, Tehran, Iran, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Bonyad Shahid for their assistance. We are also grateful to Dr. Robert Davidson for sending their software, namely, ProMetab 3.3. We aslo gratefully acknowledge financial support from Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.