Objective: To study the features of serum metabolites in preterm infants based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and to find differentially expressed metabolites in the serum of preterm infants.
Methods: Serum samples were collected from 19 preterm infants and 20 full-term infants before feeding. GC-MS was used to measure metabolic profiles, and the metabolic features of 397 serum metabolites in preterm infants were analyzed.
Results: There was a significant difference in serum metabolic features between the preterm and full-term infants before feeding. There were significant differences between the full-term and preterm infants in the levels of metabolites such as O-phosphonothreonine, digicitrin, tannic acid, and fructose-1,6-diphosphate (P<0.01), suggesting that the above differentially expressed metabolites were highly differentiated between the preterm and full-term infants. Most differentially expressed metabolites were involved in the metabolic pathways such as ABC transporters, β-alanine and pyrimidines and were correlated with some clinical parameters (albumin and total bilirubin) (P<0.05).
Conclusions: There is a significant difference in serum metabolites between preterm and full-term infants before feeding. Metabolomics plays an important role in improving metabolic disorders and exploring metabolism-related diseases in preterm infants.
目的: 应用气相色谱-质谱方法分析早产儿血清代谢物特征，寻找早产儿血清中的特异性差异代谢物。
方法: 收集19例早产儿和20例足月儿生后未开始喂养时的血清标本，应用气相色谱-质谱联用仪检测血清代谢谱，分析早产儿血清中397种代谢产物的代谢特征。
结果: 喂养前早产儿血清代谢特征与足月儿差异显著。与足月儿相比，早产儿血清中O-膦酰苏氨酸、毛地黄黄酮、鞣酸、D-果糖-1，6-二磷酸等9种代谢物的变量权重值>2且P < 0.01，提示上述差异代谢物在早产儿与足月儿之间的区分度高。差异代谢物集中于ABC转运蛋白、β-丙氨酸、嘧啶等代谢通路中，且大部分差异代谢物与临床检验指标（白蛋白、总胆红素）之间存在相关性（P < 0.05）。
结论: 喂养前早产儿较足月儿血清代谢物差异明显。代谢组学对改善早产儿体内代谢紊乱、探寻早产儿代谢密切相关疾病有重要意义。