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Review
. 2023 Jul 6:10:1218497.
doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1218497. eCollection 2023.

Metabolomics: a promising tool for deciphering metabolic impairment in heavy metal toxicities

Muhammad Sajid Hamid Akash  1 , Azka Yaqoob  1 , Kanwal Rehman  2 , Muhammad Imran  3   4 , Mohammed A Assiri  3   4 , Fatema Al-Rashed  5 , Fahd Al-Mulla  6 , Rasheed Ahmad  5 , Sardar Sindhu  5   7
Affiliations
Review

Metabolomics: a promising tool for deciphering metabolic impairment in heavy metal toxicities

Muhammad Sajid Hamid Akash et al. Front Mol Biosci. .

Abstract

Heavy metals are the metal compounds found in earth's crust and have densities higher than that of water. Common heavy metals include the lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, copper, manganese, chromium, nickel, and aluminum. Their environmental levels are consistently rising above the permissible limits and they are highly toxic as enter living systems via inhalation, ingestion, or inoculation. Prolonged exposures cause the disruption of metabolism, altered gene and/or protein expression, and dysregulated metabolite profiles. Metabolomics is a state of the art analytical tool widely used for pathomolecular inv22estigations, biomarkers, drug discovery and validation of biotransformation pathways in the fields of biomedicine, nutrition, agriculture, and industry. Here, we overview studies using metabolomics as a dynamic tool to decipher the mechanisms of metabolic impairment related to heavy metal toxicities caused by the environmental or experimental exposures in different living systems. These investigations highlight the key role of metabolomics in identifying perturbations in pathways of lipid and amino acid metabolism, with a critical role of oxidative stress in metabolic impairment. We present the conclusions with future perspectives on metabolomics applications in meeting emerging needs.

Keywords: heavy metals; metabolic impairment; metabolomics; oxidative stress; toxicity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The workflow diagram of metabolomics.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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