About this Research Topic
The application of untargeted and semi-targeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics workflows empowers new breakthroughs in clinical medicine. Advanced state-of-the-art analytical approaches are capable of resolving, detecting and identifying metabolites in complex biological samples as required for the characterization of the human metabolome. Metabolic phenotyping provides mechanistic insights into human diseases that are closely associated with clinical outcomes, and personalized responses to drug therapies, complementary to genome, transcriptome, proteome, and microbiome studies. Therefore, metabolomics offers a holistic assessment of underlying biological processes and environmental exposures, and brings meaningful insights about human health on an individual level. In such a context, metabolomics promises new advances in biomarker discovery when applied for improved screening, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring of human diseases.
Clinical metabolomics holds great promise to improve our understanding of the physiological and pathophysiological changes underlying diseases of complex etiology. Aberrant metabolism and deleterious exposures represent real-world indicators of human health and provide a powerful approach for the identification of biomarkers that enable early detection and prevention of human diseases. Furthermore, metabolomics research enables the discovery of novel therapeutic targets, assess complex dietary patterns in large populations, and unravel more effective therapeutic interventions that predict treatment responses in support of personalized medicine.
This Research Topic aims to bring together the state-of-the-art metabolomics applications for clinical settings, and intends to explore and assess cutting-edge analytical technologies that enable the understanding of complex disease mechanisms. We encourage clinicians and researchers from different perspectives to discuss recent advances and limitations in the field of clinical metabolomics. We welcome studies exploring the mechanisms underlying disease onset and progression and studies aiming at biomarker discovery. We are primarily focused on, but not limited to, chronic human diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. The Research Topic will cover both hypothesis-generating investigations and validation studies that contribute to substantial knowledge improvement. We welcome original research (human studies), brief research reports, mini reviews, reviews and perspectives.
This Research Topic may include high-quality research from across the metabolomics applications to clinical settings. Topics include, but are not limited to:
• Metabolomic solutions for clinical applications including discovery and validation studies, such as studies to gain insight into disease pathogenesis, identification of new predictive, diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers, monitoring treatment, or finding new drug targets
• Metabolomics strategies for improved patient stratification
• Studies that are presenting updates on the best practices or new protocols for clinical metabolomics
Keywords: clinical metabolomics, biomarker discovery, chronic diseases, personalized medicine, bioanalytical analysis
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.