Metabolomics in Healthy Neonates in Western Greece

Background: Metabolomics represents a new and promising area of research in neonatology. To date, the method has been succesfully applied to monitor the rapid metabolic changes after birth and to detect the metabolic responses that may be characterestic for specific neonatal disorders.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to develop a reference model of urinary metabolomics in healthy newborns up to their third day of life, taking also into account dietary effects, jaundice and exposure to tabacco smoke.

Methods: The study included 110 healthy newborns (GA 35 to 40 weeks) from the region of Western Greece. Urine samples were collected immediately after birth and of the third day (DOL). Metabolic profiling of the samples was performed by H-NMR spectroscopy. Statistical analysis was conducted in R environment, using in-house scripts.

Results: Principal component analysis showed that there were significant diffferences from birth to DOL 3 in the relative intensities of the assigned metabolites, such as betaine, glycine and taurine. Trends in differentiation of metabolites levels between the two spactral groups, late preterm amd term newborns, were also observed.

Conclusions: Our preliminary data confirmed the rapid changes in the urinary metabolic profile after birth. Ongoing research will enable us to develop the reference model of urinary metabolomics in healthy newborns during the period of adaptation to the extra-uterine life.