Metabolomics

In a disease state different proteins are newly synthesized while the expression of other proteins is repressed. However, not only the protein composition and levels are changed during a disease, there are also changes in metabolite concentrations. The usage of metabolic profiles in an “omics” setting is emerging since a few years. In a clinical setting it is used for improved diagnosis and for prediction of therapy outcome. In basic research it allows identification of pathways that are involved in or influenced by a certain (organismal) state. This will provide clues to diagnosis as well as to a deeper understanding of the disease itself.

Our group used NMR spectroscopy for metabolic investigations. We have determined metabolic changes in a mouse model of an inflammatory autoimmune skin disease [1] and identified a metabolic marker for cellular senescence in human fibroblasts [2] and skin melanocytes [3].

We participated with a project on metabolomics in the research training group GRK1727/2 "Modulation of Autoimmunity".

 

 

Literature

  1. Schönig S, Recke A, Hirose M, Ludwig R, Seeger K. Metabolite analysis distinguishes between mice with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita and healthy mice. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 2013, 8(1):93. DOI: 10.1186/1750-1172-8-93
  2. Gey C, Seeger K. Metabolic changes during cellular senescence investigated by proton NMR-spectroscopy. Mech Ageing Dev 2013, 134(3-4): 130-138. DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2013.02.002
  3. Windler C, Gey C, Seeger K.: Skin melanocytes and fibroblasts show different changes in choline metabolism during cellular senescence. Mech Ageing Dev 2017 164:82-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2017.05.001
review articles/book chapters
  • Seeger K.: Metabolic changes in autoimmune diseases. In Curr. Drug Discov. Technol. 6 (2009), 256-261. DOI: 10.2174/157016309789869074
  • Gey, C. and Seeger, K., 2017. Metabolic changes investigated by proton NMR spectroscopy in cells undergoing oncogene-induced senescence, in: Nikiforov, M.A. (Ed.), Oncogene-Induced Senescence: Methods and Protocols. Springer New York, New York, NY, pp. 155-163. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6670-7_15