Tag Archives: Methods&Applications

Special Issue: NMR-Based Metabolomics

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Special Issue: NMR-Based Metabolomics, by Míriam Pérez-Trujillo* and Toby J. Athersuch*

Molecules2021, 26(11), 3283; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26113283

This article belongs to the Special Issue NMR-Based Metabolomics

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy remains one of the core analytical platforms for metabolomics, providing complementary chemical information to others, such as mass spectrometry, and offering particular advantages in some areas of research on account of its inherent robustness, reproducibility, and phenomenal dynamic range. While routine experimental protocols for profiling and related statistical analysis pipelines have been established, they often present considerable challenges to the analyst, including spectral overlap, accurate and precise quantification, and chemical shift variation. Consequently, there is still much activity across all areas of NMR spectroscopic analysis in relation to metabolomics. Furthermore, there remain many biological systems and sample types that have not been extensively explored using NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics.In this Special Issue, several advances in methodology, and new applications in the field of NMR-based metabolomics, have been presented. In addition, the SI includes authoritative review articles focused on the state-of-the-art of quantitative NMR spectroscopy in biomedical metabolomics applications, and novel applications in the agri-food sector.

In vivo MRI/MRS longitudinal study of immunotherapy in Alzheimer’s

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Progression of Alzheimer’s disease and effect of scFv-h3D6 immunotherapy in the 3xTg-AD mouse model: An in vivo longitudinal study using Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy by Güell-Bosch J, Lope-Piedrafita S, Esquerda-Canals G, Montoliu-Gaya L, and Villegas S. NMR in Biomedicine 33(5):e4263; DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4263.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable disease that affects most of the 47 million people estimated as living with dementia worldwide. The main histopathological hallmarks of AD are extracellular β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein.  In recent years, Aβ-immunotherapy has been revealed as a potential tool in AD treatment. One strategy consists of using single-chain variable fragments (scFvs), which avoids the fragment crystallizable (Fc) effects that are supposed to trigger a microglial response, leading to microhemorrhages and vasogenic edemas, as evidenced in clinical trials with bapineuzumab. The scFv-h3D6 generated by our research group derives from this monoclonal antibody, which targets the N-terminal of the Aβ peptide and recognizes monomers, oligomers and fibrils.

In this study, 3xTg-AD mice were intraperitoneally and monthly treated with 100 μg of scFv-h3D6 (a dose of ~3.3 mg/kg) or PBS, from 5 to 12 months of age (-mo), the age at which the mice were sacrificed and samples collected for histological and biochemical analyses. During treatments, four monitoring sessions using magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) were performed at 5, 7, 9, and 12 months of age. MRI/MRS techniques allow, in a non-invasive manner, to draw an in vivo picture of concrete aspects of the pathology and to monitor its development across time. Compared with the genetic background, 3xTg-AD mice presented a smaller volume in almost all cerebral regions and ages examined, an increase in both the intra and extracellular Aβ1-42 at 12-mo, and an inflammation process at this age, in both the hippocampus (IL-6 and mIns) and cortex (IL-6). In addition, treatment with scFv-h3D6 partially recovered the values in brain volume, and Aβ, IL-6, and mIns concentrations, among others, encouraging further studies with this antibody fragment.

NEW BOOK RELEASE: “Preclinical MRI methods and protocols”

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García Martín, María Luisa & Pilar López Larrubia (eds.). 2018. Preclinical MRI. Methods in Molecular Biology series. Springer New York. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7531-0

This book was conceived with the idea of providing an update on a wide variety of preclinical MRI methods and protocols to help technicians and researchers interested in this technology. The basics of MRI physics are introduced, followed by chapters describing updated methodology and protocols for some standard and more advanced MRI techniques covering diffusion, perfusion, functional imaging, in-vivo spectroscopy (proton and heteronuclear), susceptibility contrast MRI… The book also contains some chapters where some applications of those methods are illustrated in animal models of several diseases including cancer, stroke and neurodegeneration. Protocols are described in a step-by-step approach, with interesting notes and tips at the end of each chapter, which -a priori- should allow the new worker to obtain successful results with the first attempt ;o) .

Drought enhances folivory by shifting foliar metabolomes in Quercus ilex trees

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“Drought enhances folivory by shifting foliar metabolomes in Quercus ilex trees”

Albert Rivas-Ubach, Albert Gargallo-Garriga, Jordi Sardans, Michal Oravec, Laia Mateu Castell, Míriam Pérez-Trujillo,Teodor Parella, Romà Ogaya, Otmar Urban and Josep Peñuelas. January 2014. New Phytologist DOI: 10.1111/nph.12687

Plants respond to external environmental conditions such as drought or to the seasonal changes by shifting the foliar C:N:P:K stoichiometry and metabolome. Continue reading Drought enhances folivory by shifting foliar metabolomes in Quercus ilex trees →