METABOLOMICS STUDY PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO OVARY METABOLOME AND CANCER-ASSOCIATED METABOLIC CHANGES REPORT INVESTIGATORS FROM UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE AND METABOLONRESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (June 09, 2011) — Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics, biomarker discovery and analysis, announces the publication of "Identification of Metabolites in the Normal Ovary and Their Transformation in Primary and Metastatic Ovarian Cancer", in PLOS One (PLoS ONE 6(5): 319963.). The application of non-targeted biochemical profiling (metabolomics) to human ovary tissue revealed altered metabolism in primary epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and metastatic tumors resulting from primary ovarian cancer (MOC). The study provides the first catalog of the metabolome of the human ovary and how cancer changes its composition. The work was carried out by co-authors Miranda Y. Fong and Sham S. Kakar from the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY in collaboration with Metabolon scientists. The human ovary metabolome was found to contain over 360 metabolites. Significant changes in energy utilization and an enhanced oxidative stress response coincided with primary epithelial ovarian cancer and metastatic tumors. In addition, N-acetylaspartate and N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate, novel metabolites in the ovary, were identified, although the role of these molecules in ovarian physiology has not yet been determined. The biochemical changes observed provide insight into the biochemical consequences of transformation and provide candidate biomarkers of ovarian oncogenesis. Future validation studies will determine the clinical utility of these observations for diagnosis and clinical management of ovarian cancer patients. Copies of the paper can be accessed: About MetabolonMetabolon, Inc. has advanced the field of metabolomics by pioneering and patenting the industry's leading biochemical biomarker discovery and profiling platform. It has developed the technology to quickly identify and measure all of the biochemicals in a biological sample through its proprietary global processing method. Through the generation and interpretation of data, this method provides a precise understanding of disease etiology and drug action, and advances personalized medicine beyond what genomics and other approaches can promise. Metabolon's expertise is being embraced by a wide range of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food and agricultural companies. Metabolytics, its biomarker discovery and analysis business, has completed over 320 client studies and processed over 30,000 samples for customers in 2010 alone. Building on its expertise in biochemistry understanding, Metabolon is also developing proprietary diagnostic tests to determine and track disease progression. For more information about Metabolon, please visit www.metabolon.com or contact Matt Zaske at mzaske@metabolon.com or 919-595-2200. |