title: Investigation of metabolite alteration in dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver fibrosis by GC-MS.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A metabolomic study of biomarkers associated with dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced hepatic fibrosis in Sprague-Dawley rats was performed using GC-MS. The clinical chemistry of the collected blood and the histopathology of excised liver samples were examined, and urine samples were prepared by solvent extraction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Through pattern analysis, the DMN-treated group was divided into two subgroups based on the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels compared with the control, a moderately higher group (DMN subgroup A) and a significantly higher group (DMN subgroup B). Uric acid, orotic acid, N-phenylacetylglycine and glutaric acid were biomarkers for DMN subgroup A, aminomalonic acid was a biomarker for DMN subgroup B, and arabitol level distinguished control versus DMN treatment regardless of AST level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that the identification and profiling of AST level-related metabolites may be useful as a diagnostic tool and for the study of the mechanism of liver fibrosis induced by DMN.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy & Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Kyoung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.forename: Ha Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Hee-Seung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jeong Hill
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung Cil
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Joon Mee
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soon-Sun
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Sung Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004128:Dimethylnitrosamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D004128:Dimethylnitrosamine