1H FULL SPECTRUM NMR STOCSY METABOLOMICS ANALYSIS OF HORSE BLOOD SERUM WITH OSTEOCHONDRITIS DISSECANS (OCD)

Abstract

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a disease which affects the joints and cartilage of up to a quarter of horses within the equine industry, causing economic losses in both athletic horse competitions and veterinary costs every year. Additionally, the study of horse cartilage and how it reacts to disease offers an avenue of study into human cartilage due to the structural similarities the two share. Metabolomic analysis has been a way for those in the past to study how biological samples react in the face of disease since the relative concentrations and , a tool which can be utilized here. One kind of metabolomic analysis involves using multivariate analysis of NMR data to identify and quantify key biomarkers and their connections between each other to establish a metabolic profile that can be used for diagnostic purposes and to help figure out novel therapeutic treatments. In a novel approach in helping to construct such a novel metabolic profile, Statistical Total Correlation Spectroscopy (STOCSY) was performed using a set of 1H 1D full spectrum NMR data with both healthy and OCD-afflicted horses. It was found that high-density lipoproteins (HDL) have low correlation coefficients with key NMR signals (GlycA, GlyB, and the SPC-phospholipid composite signal) that have been previously established for their use in diagnostic purposes. Therefore, HDL and its components are likely uninvolved in the same biochemical pathways and/or disease response to OCD as these biomarkers. However, very-low-density and low-density lipoproteins (VLDL and LDL, respectively), cholesterol C-18, chylomicrons, and an unknown metabolite(s) have high correlation coefficients with these biomarker signals. Therefore, these metabolites are highly involved in the same biochemical and/or disease response to OCD as these biomarkers.