LC-MS-based plasma metabolomics reveals metabolic variations in ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in female Wistar rats

Osteoporosis with a reduction in bone mineral density has become one of the most common metabolic bone diseases. Postmenopausal women are a high-risk group that suffers from osteoporosis when the production of estrogen in their body rapidly declines. Early prediction and diagnosis of osteoporosis will be conducive to having a greater chance to control the deterioration in condition of osteoporosis patients; however, there are still no effective measures in practice. In this study, we aimed at exploring metabolic variations in postmenopausal osteoporosis using ovariectomized female rats as an animal model. The research was performed using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) combined with multivariate statistical analysis for plasma metabolome analysis. The results reveal that metabolic variations of ovariectomized-induced osteoporosis involve 18 differentially expressed metabolites and 13 related metabolism pathways such as valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis as well as arachidonic acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Notably, the ingenuity pathway analysis platform for further understanding the relationship between metabolic alteration and osteoporosis shows that the change in the levels of metabolites mainly lead to the abnormal state of cellular compromise, cell signaling, inflammation, molecular transport and lipid metabolism. Metabolomics, as a novel way to characterize resolute endogenous small metabolites in organisms, describes the variation in the early stages of metabolic alteration for offering valuable information on pathogenic mechanisms.