“Omics” of High Altitude Biology: A Urinary Metabolomics Biomarker Study of Rats Under Hypobaric Hypoxia

Abstract

Abstract

High altitude medicine is an emerging subspecialty that has crosscutting relevance for 21^st century science and society: from sports medicine and aerospace industry to urban and rural communities living in high altitude. Recreational travel to high altitude has also become increasingly popular. Rarely has the biology of high altitude biology been studied using systems sciences and omics high-throughput technologies. In the present study, 1H-NMR-based metabolomics, along with multivariate analyses, were employed in a preclinical rat model to characterize the urinary metabolome under hypobaric hypoxia stress. Rats were exposed to simulated altitude of 6700 m above the sea level. The urine samples were collected from pre- and post-exposure (1, 3, 7, and 14 days) of hypobaric hypoxia. Metabolomics urinalysis showed alterations in TCA cycle metabolites (citrate, α-ketoglutarate), cell membrane metabolism (choline), gut micro-flora metabolism (hippurate, phenylacetylglycine), and others (N-acetyl glutamate, creatine, taurine) in response to hypobaric hypoxia. Taurine, a potential biomarker of hepatic function, was elevated after 3 days of hypobaric hypoxia, which indicates altered liver functioning. Liver histopathology confirmed the damage to tissue architecture due to hypobaric hypoxia. The metabolic pathway analysis identified taurine metabolism and TCA as important pathways that might have contributed to hypobaric hypoxia-induced pathophysiology. This study demonstrates the use of metabolomics as a promising tool for discovery and understanding of novel biochemical responses to hypobaric hypoxia exposure, providing new insight in the field of high altitude medicine and the attendant health problems that occur in response to high altitude. The findings reported here also have potential relevance for sports medicine and aviation sciences.