title: Metabolomics in necrotizing enterocolitis: the state of the art.
abstract: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a serious inflammation of the bowel that most often affects premature infants. The exact cause of NEC is still poorly understood but investigators believe that these different factors can play an important role: prematurity and immaturity of the intestine of the preterm newborns, differences in the intestinal bacterial colonization and an abnormal immune response. Since the early symptoms of NEC are often rather non-specific, the diagnosis of NEC can be difficult. Therefore, the search for diagnostic biomarkers for NEC remains warranted. This review focuses on the results of recent metabolomics investigations on NEC, providing important contributions to the understanding of the biochemical process characterizing this disease. Areas covered: Only a few metabolomics applications of NEC are reported in the literature. The metabolic pathway principally altered in NEC patients is suggested to be linked to the carbohydrates metabolism and the role of gluconate as a predictive marker for this pathology is investigated. Expert commentary: Biomarkers are crucial as a confident diagnostic tool to make NEC therapy more efficient. Although only a few metabolomics studies have been performed in NEC research, this technique proved to be helpful to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgical Sciences , Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dessì
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgical Sciences , Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pintus
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgical Sciences , Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marras
authors.affiliation: b Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences , University of Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cesare Marincola
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgical Sciences , Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Magistris
authors.affiliation: c Department of Surgery, Puericulture Institute and Neonatal Section , Universita degli Studi di Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy.
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fanos
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D010427:Pentose Phosphate Pathway; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: 1HNMR; GC-MS; Necrotizing enterocolitis; metabolomics; newborn