A Metabonomics Study of Atherosclerosis by Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

A rapid resolution liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometric (RRLC-QTOF/MS) method was used to profile the metabolites of urine samples from atherosclerosis (AS) patients and healthy controls and find the differential metabolites which could provide the scientific evidence to explain the pathogenesis and early disease diagnose. In the study, 15 AS patients (age46. 84 +/- 2. 41 years) and 15 healthy controls (age45. 72 +/- 1. 93 years) was screened out by VaSera VS-1000. The urine samples were analyzed by RRLC-QTOF/MS and the resulting data matrices were analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis (Principal Component Analysis, PCA) to find the potential biomarkers. The results showed that the urine samples of AS patients were successfully distinguished from those of healthy controls. Besides, a total of two significantly changed metabolites, uric acid and Guanidineacetic acid, had been found and identified as potential biomarkers, which suggested that the disorder of purine metabolism and amino acid metabolism played an important role in the mechanism of AS.