Integrated analysis of serum and liver metabonome in liver transplanted rats by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

In this paper, we present a metabonomic method for the investigation of abnormal metabolic process in both serum and liver tissue of liver transplanted rats. Syngeneic transplantation was performed on male Lewis rats. The serum and grafted liver on day 1, 3, and 7 post-transplant were collected to analyze endogenous metabolites using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The method was validated with acceptable linearity, precision, and repeatability. Thirty-four metabolites in serum and 29 metabolites in liver were identified. Results of correlation analysis illustrated metabolites with similar function exhibited similar variations in liver and serum. The data processed by principle component analysis (PCA) showed time-dependent biochemical variations. As a consequence, the present study may offer specific putative pathways in the pathophysiological mechanism of orthotopic liver transplantation.