In parallel with the childhood obesity epidemic, chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are on the rise among youth worldwide, with a staggering 18.5% prevalence of one of these conditions among adolescents and young adults in the U.S. While the behavioral and biological causes are complex and multifaceted, a “Western diet” high in refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats is recognized as a key behavioral risk factor. One biological mechanism linking a Western diet to obesity and obesity-related conditions is metabolic endotoxemia, or the translocation of the gut-derived endotoxin bacterium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and its binding protein, LPS binding protein (LBP), in blood. In short, this happens when bacteria (or parts of bacteria) move from the inside of the intestine into the bloodstream where they do not belong. The presence of the endotoxin bacterium in the bloodstream is concerning because it results in insulin resistance, causes inflammation, and can alter how the body handles fat or lipids.
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 by Wei Perng, PhD Recent technological advances have landed us in a new age of research known as “the omics” era. While the number of omics categories is rapidly increasing, the core four involve the large-scale evaluation of gene expression (genomics), mRNA expression (transcriptomics), protein structure and function (proteomics), and metabolite patterns (metabolomics) - all in hopes to gain knowledge on disease development. Scientists have recently taken a keen interest in metabolomics; specifically, on how low-molecular-weight compounds (e.g. amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, hormones) in tissue can provide information on disease progression and prognosis. Metabolomics could provide a snapshot of the good, the bad, and everything in between.
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