Metabolomics can provide new insights into perinatal nutrition.

Perinatal nutrition is a key factor related to the Developmental Origin of Health and Disease hypothesis, which states that each and every event that happens during the periconceptional period and pregnancy can affect the health status of an individual. Metabolomics can be a very useful tool for gathering information about the effect of perinatal nutrition on both mothers and newborn infants. This non-systematic review focuses on the main metabolites detected by this technique, with regard to gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth restriction and breast milk. Conclusion. Nutrition, metabolome and microbiome interactions are gaining interest in the scientific community.

Sardinian Infants of Diabetic Mothers: A Metabolomics Observational Study.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition characterized by glucose intolerance, with hyperglycemia of varying severity with onset during pregnancy. An uncontrolled GDM can lead to an increased risk of morbidity in the fetus and newborn, and an increased risk of obesity or developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension or neurocognitive developmental impairment in adulthood. In this study, we used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS) to analyze the urinary metabolomic profile of newborns of diabetic mothers (NDMs) with the aim of identifying biomarkers useful for the monitoring of NDMs and for early diagnosis of predisposition to develop related chronic diseases. A total of 26 newborns were recruited: 21 children of diabetic mothers, comprising 13 in diet therapy (NDM-diet) and 8 in insulin therapy (NDM-insulin), and 5 control children of non-diabetic mothers (CTR). Urine samples were collected at five time points: at birth (T1), on the third day of life (T2), one week (T3), one month (T4) and six months postpartum (T5). At T1, variations were observed in the levels of seven potential biomarkers (acetate, lactate, glycylproline/proline, isocitrate, N,N-dimethylglycine, N-acetylglucosamine and N-carbamoyl-aspartate) in NMD-insulin infants compared to NDM-diet and CTR infants. In particular, the altered metabolites were found to be involved in several metabolic pathways such as citrate metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and pyruvate metabolism. In contrast, these changes were not visible at subsequent sampling times. The impact of early nutrition (maternal and formula milk) on the metabolomic profile was considered as a potential contributing factor to this finding.

Urinary Metabolomics Study of Patients with Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease.

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect responsible for valvular and aortic complications in affected patients. Causes and mechanisms of this pathology are still elusive and thus the lack of early detection biomarkers leads to challenges in its diagnosis and prevention of associated cardiovascular anomalies. The aim of this study was to explore the potential use of urine Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) metabolomics to evaluate a molecular fingerprint of BAV. Both multivariate and univariate statistical analyses were performed to compare the urinary metabolome of 20 patients with BAV with that of 24 matched controls. Orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) showed statistically significant discrimination between cases and controls, suggesting seven metabolites (3-hydroxybutyrate, alanine, betaine, creatine, glycine, hippurate, and taurine) as potential biomarkers. Among these, glycine, hippurate and taurine individually displayed medium sensitivity and specificity by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Pathway analysis indicated two metabolic pathways likely perturbed in BAV subjects. Possible contributions of gut microbiota activity and energy imbalance are also discussed. These results constitute encouraging preliminary findings in favor of the use of urine-based metabolomics for early diagnosis of BAV.

Exposure to tobacco smoke and low birth weight: from epidemiology to metabolomics.

INTRODUCTION: The exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is one of the leading causes of perinatal adverse outcomes such as stillbirth, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and low birth weight, but the underlying biological mechanisms are still unclear. The incidence of this phenomenon maybe largely underestimated since the evaluation is made mainly by self-assessment questionnaires rather than measuring nicotine metabolites (such as cotinine) in biological fluids. In this context metabolomics may be useful to assess the actual number of pregnant women and to highlight the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to the abovementioned adverse outcomes. Areas covered: The aims of this review are to analyze the literature and the application of the omics sciences, such as genomics and metabolomics concerning the negative effects of smoking during pregnancy in order to give a comprehensive picture of all the study made so far and to point out the potential of metabolomics as an investigative, predictive, and diagnostic tool. Expert commentary: Metabolomics in recent years has proved an excellent tool to try to understand the problems in perinatal medicine. With the increase in the number of studies we are convinced that it can be a useful instrument of investigation in this field.

Fetal programming of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Starting from the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypotheses proposed by David Barker, namely fetal programming, in the past years, there is a growing evidence of the major role played by epigenetic factors during the intrauterine life and the perinatal period. Furthermore, it has been assessed that these factors can affect the health status in infancy and even in adulthood. In this review, we focus our attention on the fetal programming of the brain, analyzing the most recent literature concerning the epigenetic factors that can influence the development of neuropsychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorders, major depressive disorders, and schizophrenia. The perinatal epigenetic factors have been divided in two main groups: maternal factors and fetal factors. The maternal factors include diet, smoking, alcoholism, hypertension, malnutrition, trace elements, stress, diabetes, substance abuse, and exposure to environmental toxicants, while the fetal factors include hypoxia/asphyxia, placental insufficiency, prematurity, low birth weight, drugs administered to the mother or to the baby, and all factors causing intrauterine growth restriction. A better comprehension of the possible mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of these diseases may help researchers and clinicians develop new diagnostic tools and treatments to offer these patients a tailored medical treatment strategy to improve their quality of life. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:207-223, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Integrative Multiomics Approach to Skin: The Sinergy between Individualised Medicine and Futuristic Precision Skin Care?

The skin is a complex ecosystem colonized by millions of microorganisms, the skin microbiota, which are crucial in regulating not only the physiological functions of the skin but also the metabolic changes underlying the onset of skin diseases. The high microbial colonization together with a low diversity at the phylum level and a high diversity at the species level of the skin is very similar to that of the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, there is an important communication pathway along the gut-brain-skin axis, especially associated with the modulation of neurotransmitters by the microbiota. Therefore, it is evident that the high complexity of the skin system, due not only to the genetics of the host but also to the interaction of the host with resident microbes and between microbe and microbe, requires a multi-omics approach to be deeply understood. Therefore, an integrated analysis, with high-throughput technologies, of the consequences of microbial interaction with the host through the study of gene expression (genomics and metagenomics), transcription (transcriptomics and meta-transcriptomics), and protein production (proteomics and meta-proteomics) and metabolite formation (metabolomics and lipidomics) would be useful. Although to date very few studies have integrated skin metabolomics data with at least one other 'omics' technology, in the future, this approach will be able to provide simple and fast tests that can be routinely applied in both clinical and cosmetic settings for the identification of numerous skin diseases and conditions. It will also be possible to create large archives of multi-omics data that can predict individual responses to pharmacological treatments and the efficacy of different cosmetic products on individual subjects by means of specific allotypes, with a view to increasingly tailor-made medicine. In this review, after analyzing the complexity of the skin ecosystem, we have highlighted the usefulness of this emerging integrated omics approach for the analysis of skin problems, starting with one of the latest 'omics' sciences, metabolomics, which can photograph the expression of the genome during its interaction with the environment.

Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Children: A Forgotten Disease?

Even today, tuberculosis in childhood is a disease that is often undiagnosed and undertreated. In the absence of therapy with antituberculosis drugs, children in the first years of life have a high degree of severe forms and mortality. In these children, symptoms are often not very specific and can easily be confused with other diseases of bacterial, viral or fungal etiology, making diagnosis more difficult. Nevertheless, the introduction of new diagnostic techniques has allowed a more rapid identification of the infection. Indeed, Interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is preferred to the Mantoux, albeit with obvious limitations in children aged <2 years. While the Xpert Mtb/RIF Ultra test is recommended as an initial diagnostic investigation of the gastric aspirate and/or stools in children with signs and symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis. The drugs used in the treatment of susceptible and resistant TB are the same as those used in adults but doses and combinations are different in the pediatric age. In children, brief therapy is preferable in both the latent infection and the active disease, as a significant reduction in side effects is obtained.

Childhood Obesity and the Cryptic Language of the Microbiota: Metabolomics' Upgrading.

The growing obesity epidemic in childhood is increasingly concerning for the related physical and psychological consequences, with a significant impact on health care costs in both the short and the long term. Nonetheless, the scientific community has not yet completely clarified the complex metabolic mechanisms underlying body weight alterations. In only a small percentage of cases, obesity is the result of endocrine, monogenic, or syndromic causes, while in much more cases, lifestyle plays a crucial role in obesity development. In this context, the pediatric age appears to be of considerable importance as prevention strategies together with early intervention can represent important therapeutic tools not only to counteract the comorbidities that increasingly affect children but also to hinder the persistence of obesity in adulthood. Although evidence in the literature supporting the alteration of the microbiota as a critical factor in the etiology of obesity is abundant, it is not yet fully defined and understood. However, increasingly clear evidence is emerging regarding the existence of differentiated metabolic profiles in obese children, with characteristic metabolites. The identification of specific pathology-related biomarkers and the elucidation of the altered metabolic pathways would therefore be desirable in order to clarify aspects that are still poorly understood, such as the consequences of the interaction between the host, the diet, and the microbiota. In fact, metabolomics can characterize the biological behavior of a specific individual in response to external stimuli, offering not only an eventual effective screening and prevention strategy but also the possibility of evaluating adherence and response to dietary intervention.

Lipidomics and Metabolomics in Infant Atopic Dermatitis: What's the Correlation with Early Nutrition?

To date, the complex picture of atopic dermatitis (AD) has not yet been fully clarified, despite the important prevalence of this disease in the pediatric population (20%) and the possibility of persistence into adulthood, with important implications for the quality of life of those affected, as well as significant social and financial costs. The most recent scientific evidence suggests a new interpretation of AD, highlighting the important role of the environment, particularly that of nutrition in the early stages of development. In fact, the new indications seem to point out the harmful effect of elimination diets, except in rare cases, the uselessness of chrono-insertions during complementary feeding and some benefits, albeit weak, of breastfeeding in those at greater risk. In this context, metabolomics and lipidomics can be necessary for a more in-depth knowledge of the complex metabolic network underlying this pathology. In fact, an alteration of the metabolic contents in children with AD has been highlighted, especially in correlation to the intestinal microbiota. While preliminary lipidomic studies showed the usefulness of a more in-depth knowledge of the alterations of the skin barrier to improve the development of baby skin care products. Therefore, investigating the response of different allergic phenotypes could be useful for better patient management and understanding, thus providing an early intervention on dysbiosis necessary to regulate the immune response from the earliest stages of development.

Metabolomic Studies in Inborn Errors of Metabolism: Last Years and Future Perspectives.

The inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs or Inherited Metabolic Disorders) are a heterogeneous group of diseases caused by a deficit of some specific metabolic pathways. IEMs may present with multiple overlapping symptoms, sometimes difficult delayed diagnosis and postponed therapies. Additionally, many IEMs are not covered in newborn screening and the diagnostic profiling in the metabolic laboratory is indispensable to reach a correct diagnosis. In recent years, Metabolomics helped to obtain a better understanding of pathogenesis and pathophysiology of IEMs, by validating diagnostic biomarkers, discovering new specific metabolic patterns and new IEMs itself. The expansion of Metabolomics in clinical biochemistry and laboratory medicine has brought these approaches in clinical practice as part of newborn screenings, as an exam for differential diagnosis between IEMs, and evaluation of metabolites in follow up as markers of severity or therapies efficacy. Lastly, several research groups are trying to profile metabolomics data in platforms to have a holistic vision of the metabolic, proteomic and genomic pathways of every single patient. In 2018 this team has made a review of literature to understand the value of Metabolomics in IEMs. Our review offers an update on use and perspectives of metabolomics in IEMs, with an overview of the studies available from 2018 to 2022.

Metabolomics in NEC: An Updated Review.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) represents the most common and lethal acute gastrointestinal emergency of newborns, mainly affecting those born prematurely. It can lead to severe long-term sequelae and the mortality rate is approximately 25%. Furthermore, the diagnosis is difficult, especially in the early stages, due to multifactorial pathogenesis and complex clinical pictures with mild and non-specific symptoms. In addition, the existing tests have poor diagnostic value. Thus, the scientific community has been focusing its attention on the identification of non-invasive biomarkers capable of prediction, early diagnosis and discriminating NEC from other intestinal diseases in order to intervene early and block the progression of the pathology. In this regard, the use of "omics" technologies, especially metabolomics and microbiomics, could be a fundamental synergistic strategy to study the pathophysiology of NEC. In addition, a deeper knowledge of the microbiota-host cross-talk can clarify the metabolic pathways potentially involved in the pathology, allowing for the identification of specific biomarkers. In this article, the authors analyze the state-of-the-art concerning the application of metabolomics and microbiota analysis to investigate this pathology and discuss the future possibility of the metabolomic fingerprint of patients for diagnostic purposes.

Metabolomic profiles and microbiota of GDM offspring: The key for future perspective?

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), or any degree of glucose intolerance recognized for the first time during pregnancy, is one of the diseases that most frequently aggravates the course of gestation. Missed or late diagnosis and inadequate treatment are associated with high maternal and fetal morbidity, with possible short- and long-term repercussions. Estimates on the prevalence of GDM are alarming and increasing by about 30% in the last 10-20 years. In addition, there is the negative influence of the SARS-CoV-2 emergency on the glycemic control of pregnant women, making the matter increasingly topical. To date, knowledge on the metabolic maturation of newborns is still incomplete. However, in light of the considerable progress of the theory of "developmental origins of health and disease," the relevant role of the intrauterine environment cannot be overlooked. In fact, due to the high plasticity of the early stages of development, some detrimental metabolic alterations during fetal growth, including maternal hyperglycemia, are associated with a higher incidence of chronic diseases in adult life. In this context, metabolomic analysis which allows to obtain a detailed phenotypic portrait through the dynamic detection of all metabolites in cells, tissues and different biological fluids could be very useful for the early diagnosis and prevention of complications. Indeed, if the diagnostic timing is optimized through the identification of specific metabolites, the detailed understanding of the altered metabolic pathway could also allow better management and more careful monitoring, also from a nutritional profile, of the more fragile children. In this context, a further contribution derives from the analysis of the intestinal microbiota, the main responsible for the fecal metabolome, given its alteration in pregnancies complicated by GDM and the possibility of transmission to offspring. The purpose of this review is to analyze the available data regarding the alterations in the metabolomic profile and microbiota of the offspring of mothers with GDM in order to highlight future prospects for reducing GDM-related complications in children of mothers affected by this disorder.

Resolvins' Obesity-Driven Deficiency: The Implications for Maternal-Fetal Health.

Since pregnancy is already characterized by mild but significant inflammatory activity in physiological conditions, when complicated by obesity the probability of a persistent inflammatory state increases, with consequent multiple repercussions that add up to the complications associated with acute inflammation. In this context, the role of resolvins, specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), deriving from omega-3 essential fatty acids, may be crucial. Indeed, differential production in numerous high-risk conditions associated with both childbirth and neonatal health, the correlation between maternal omega-3 intake and resolvin concentrations in maternal blood and at the placental level, and the high values found in breast milk in the first month of breastfeeding, are some of the most important hallmarks of these autacoids. In addition, a growing body of scientific evidence supports the lack of SPMs, at the level of immune-metabolic tissues, in the case of obesity. Furthermore, the obesity-related lack of SPMs seems to be decisive in the context of the current outbreak of COVID-19, as it appears to be one of the causes associated with the higher incidence of complications and negative outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The usefulness of metabolomics in this field appears clear, given that through the metabolome it is possible to observe the numerous and complex interactions between the mother, the placenta and the fetus in order to identify specific biomarkers useful in the prediction, diagnosis and monitoring of the various obstetric conditions. However, further investigations are needed in order to evaluate the possible use of some resolvins as biomarkers of maternal-fetal outcomes but also to establish adequate integration values in pregnant women with omega-3 fatty acids or with more active derivatives that guarantee optimal SPM production under risky conditions.

What to Expect from COVID-19 and from COVID-19 Vaccine for Expecting or Lactating Women.

Recent studies identified pregnancy as a high-risk condition for the development of maternal-fetal complications in the case of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, the scientific community is now considering pregnant women a "fragile" category that should be vaccinated with high priority. The number of pregnant women undergoing hospitalization since summer 2021, including Intensive Care Unit admission, is growing, as well as the risk of preterm birth. Evidence from both animals and humans suggest that, similarly to other vaccines routinely administered in pregnancy, COVID-19 vaccines are not crossing the placenta, do not increase the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, stillbirth, the birth of small gestational age neonates, as well as the risk of congenital abnormalities. To date, the World Health Organization and scientific literature are promoting and encouraging the vaccination of all pregnant and lactating women. The aim of our narrative review is to present the available literature regarding this issue with the aim to provide appropriate answers to the most frequent requests, doubts, and fears that have led many expecting and lactating women not to become vaccinated during this pandemic period.

Human milk sphingomyelins and metabolomics: an enigma to be discovered.

Sphingomyelins, the most abundant sphingolipids in most mammalian cells, appear to be among the most represented polar lipids in breast milk. Despite the variability of the data reported in the literature, human milk sphingomyelins are qualitatively unique and their quantities are five times higher than in most formula milk. The structural and functional role within the milk fat globule membranes, the involvement in neonatal neurological maturation both in neuro-typical development and in some pathological circumstances, together with the possible contribution in the intestinal development of newborns, are certainly among the main characteristics that have fueled the curiosity of the scientific world. Metabolomics studies, providing a unique metabolic fingerprint, allow an in-depth analysis of the role of these molecules in the extreme variability and uniqueness of breast milk. In the perspective of preventive medicine, at the base of which there is certainly personalized nutrition, it is possible, in the presence of particular conditions, such as neonatal growth retardation or in preterm infants, to consider supplementation of some target nutrients, such as certain sphingomyelins. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to more accurately assess whether and how the type and quantity of sphingomyelins present in breast milk could affect the metabolic health of newborns.HIGHLIGHTSBreast milk is the golden standard for infants' nutritionSphingomyelins are the most represented polar lipids in breast milkThese molecules are involved in both intestinal and neural developments of newbornsMetabolomics is a very useful tool to investigate their precise roleFurther studies are needed to provide eventual nutritional treatment.

The Donkey Milk in Infant Nutrition.

In the history of the world, the donkey has always had a special place next to humans since the time of its domestication, about 10,000 years ago [...].

First trimester metabolomics 1H-NMR study of the urinary profile predicts gestational diabetes mellitus development in obese women.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is one of the main risk factors for the development gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Thus, we aim to identify changes in the urinary metabolomics profile of obese women at first trimester of pregnancy in order to predict later GDM diagnosis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this nested case-control study, urine samples collected in the first trimester of pregnancy obtained from obese women who developed GDM (n = 29) and obese women who did not develop diabetes (n = 25 NO GDM) were analyzed with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis. GDM diagnosis was obtained with one-step oral glucose load. RESULTS: OPLS-DA significantly separated the GDM women from NO GDM women. Specifically, GDM women were characterized by a higher level of tryptophan, trigonelline, hippurate, and threonine, and lower levels of 1-methylnicotinamide, 3-hydroxykynurenine, glycocholate, isoleucine, kynurenine, and valine compared to NO GDM women. CONCLUSION: In a prevalently Caucasian population, the changes of some metabolites such as tryptophan, trigonelline, and branch-chained amino acids in the urinary profile of obese women in the first trimester are able to make unequivocal prediction of those which later test positive for GDM. This approach could be useful to diagnose much earlier obese women with GDM allowing lifestyle counselling and other interventions.

A Comparison of Mother's Milk and the Neonatal Urine Metabolome: A Unique Fingerprinting for Different Nutritional Phenotypes.

The ability of metabolomics to provide a snapshot of an individual's metabolic state makes it a very useful technique in neonatology for investigating the complex relationship between nutrition and the state of health of the newborn. Through an 1H-NMR metabolomics analysis, we aimed to investigate the metabolic profile of newborns by analyzing both urine and milk samples in relation to the birth weight of neonates classified as AGA (adequate for the gestational age, n = 51), IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction, n = 14), and LGA (large for gestational age, n = 15). Samples were collected at 7 ± 2 days after delivery. Of these infants, 42 were exclusively breastfed, while 38 received mixed feeding with a variable amount of commercial infant formula (less than 40%) in addition to breast milk. We observed a urinary spectral pattern for oligosaccharides very close to that of the corresponding mother's milk in the case of exclusively breastfed infants, thus mirroring the maternal phenotype. The absence of this good match between the infant urine and human milk spectra in the case of mixed-fed infants could be reasonably ascribed to the use of a variable amount of commercial infant formulas (under 40%) added to breast milk. Furthermore, our findings did not evidence any significant differences in the spectral profiles in terms of the neonatal customize centile, i.e., AGA (adequate for gestational age), LGA (large for gestational age), or IGUR (intrauterine growth restriction). It is reasonable to assume that maternal human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) production is not or is only minimally influenced by the fetal growth conditions for unknown reasons. This hypothesis may be supported by our metabolomics-based results, confirming once again the importance of this approach in the neonatal field.

The child with medical complexity.

Children with medical complexity represent a big challenge for the physicians, their families and the society as well. Although there is no clear definition of this type of patients, they are affected by a chronic, often very severe condition for their whole life. They also represent a huge cost for the health care system due to their needs of continuous assistance.In this review we summarized the definitions of child with medical complexity. Then we illustrated the strategies to treat and take care of these children in order to look at them not as a burden or a cost but as an opportunity to growth and improve as clinicians and to improve the society, to give them the best life they can live.We also wanted to give voice to the physicians, the parents and the children themselves to really show and understand what are their experiences and their feelings in dealing with their conditions. We concluded with the description of one example of children with medical complexity: prematurity. We discussed the progresses in their treatment so far in order to illustrate what is the future of pediatrics. Since it has been more and more acknowledged that every child with medical complexity is unique, the future of pediatric is to organize an individualized approach and to "see things with the eye of a child".

Human Milk Oligosaccharides: A Comprehensive Review towards Metabolomics.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third most represented component in breast milk. They serve not only as prebiotics but they exert a protective role against some significant neonatal pathologies such as necrotizing enterocolitis. Furthermore, they can program the immune system and consequently reduce allergies and autoimmune diseases' incidence. HMOs also play a crucial role in brain development and in the gut barrier's maturation. Moreover, the maternal genetic factors influencing different HMO patterns and their modulation by the interaction and the competition between active enzymes have been widely investigated in the literature, but there are few studies concerning the role of other factors such as maternal health, nutrition, and environmental influence. In this context, metabolomics, one of the newest "omics" sciences that provides a snapshot of the metabolites present in bio-fluids, such as breast milk, could be useful to investigate the HMO content in human milk. The authors performed a review, from 2012 to the beginning of 2021, concerning the application of metabolomics to investigate the HMOs, by using Pubmed, Researchgate and Scopus as source databases. Through this technology, it is possible to know in real-time whether a mother produces a specific oligosaccharide, keeping into consideration that there are other modifiable and unmodifiable factors that influence HMO production from a qualitative and a quantitative point of view. Although further studies are needed to provide clinical substantiation, in the future, thanks to metabolomics, this could be possible by using a dipstick and adding the eventual missing oligosaccharide to the breast milk or formula in order to give the best and the most personalized nutritional regimen for each newborn, adjusting to different necessities.