Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics reveals metabolic perturbations in medullary thyroid carcinoma

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 8397 - 9
• Main Authors: Jajin, Morteza Ghazanfari, Abooshahab, Raziyeh, Hooshmand, Kourosh, Moradi, Ali, Siadat, Seyed Davar, Mirzazadeh, Roghieh, Chegini, Koorosh Goodarzvand, Hedayati, Mehdi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 19.05.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/45; 631/45/320; 631/45/776; 631/67; 631/67/1459; 631/67/2322; 631/67/2327; Amino acids; Biosynthesis; C cells; Chromatography; Fatty acids; Gas chromatography; Glutamine; Humanities and Social Sciences; Linoleic acid; Linolenic acid; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metabolic pathways; Metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolomics; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Scientific imaging; Thyroid; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid carcinoma; Tumor cells; Tumorigenesis
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12590-x

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare tumor that arises from parafollicular cells within the thyroid gland. The molecular mechanism underlying MTC has not yet been fully understood. Here, we aimed to perform plasma metabolomics profiling of MTC patients to explore the perturbation of metabolic pathways contributing to MTC tumorigenesis. Plasma samples from 20 MTC patients and 20 healthy subjects were obtained to carry out an untargeted metabolomics by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Multivariate and univariate analyses were employed as diagnostic tools via MetaboAnalyst and SIMCA software. A total of 76 features were structurally annotated; among them, 13 metabolites were selected to be differentially expressed in MTC patients compared to controls ( P  <  0.05 ). These metabolites were mainly associated with the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and amino acid metabolisms, mostly leucine, glutamine, and glutamate, tightly responsible for tumor cells' energy production. Moreover, according to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, metabolites with the area under the curve (AUC) value up to 0.90, including linoleic acid (AUC = 0.935), linolenic acid (AUC = 0.92), and leucine (AUC = 0.948) could discriminate MTC from healthy individuals. This preliminary work contributes to existing knowledge of MTC metabolism by providing evidence of a distinctive metabolic profile in MTC patients relying on the metabolomics approach.