evotec_Nov23_PanOmicsDriven - 23

Precision medicine has been bolstered by
improvements in DNA sequencing technology.
However, other technologies needed to develop
precision medicine are in the early stages of
development-including technologies that would
seem relatively simple, such as technologies for
the collection of patient data. Such technology
must ensure the confidentiality of patients' health
information. [Andrew Brookes/Getty Images]
group has taken a metabolomics approach to trying
to accurately diagnose OA, measuring phosphatidylcholines
(PCs) and the lysophosphatidylcholines
(lysoPCs, also called lysolecithins) that are derived
from PCs via partial biological hydrolysis, where
water reacts to remove one fatty acid group using an
enzyme called phospholipase A2. PCs and lysoPCs
are phospholipids that are a key component of cell
membranes.
By calculating the lysoPC to PC ratio, Zhai found
evidence suggesting that the conversion of PC to
lysoPC was overactivated in OA patients, and that
the plasma/serum lysoPC to PC ratio indicated OA
risk. Interestingly, the group also found that having
high levels of phenylalanine in the blood was also
associated with knee OA progression over five
years, indicating that at-risk patients should try to
avoid aspartame, which contains a small amount of
phenylalanine. Arginine meanwhile has been found
to be deficient in OA patients.
These results indicate that a metabolomics
approach to precision medicine could even help
scientists and clinicians develop and adopt a
personalized nutritional approach to clinical treatment.
" I use metabolomics because it is cost effective, "
Zhai noted. " It can also indicate genetic factors
that might be in play, causing subtle changes in
metabolism that could contribute to degenerative
diseases such as OA. "
Zhai's goal is to use his group's findings to
develop precision medicine tools that could facilitate
improved patient stratification for clinical
trials. " In this way, we can start to change the
perception that OA is a single disease, " Zhai
explained. " OA is a group of conditions with
different causes that present similar or the same
symptoms in patients. Therefore, patients should
be treated on an individual level [and not] in the
same way. " Predictive methods could be used to
identify patients more at risk for developing OA,
23
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evotec_Nov23_PanOmicsDriven

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