Metabolic Diseases
The Human Gut Microbiome plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders. Pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop new therapies based on these microbes
Understanding the mechanisms that underlie diseases and disorders of the endocrine and metabolic systems
is crucial to developing treatments and diagnostic tests for their detection and treatment.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus has reached epidemic levels worldwide and accounts for about 90% of all diabetes cases. It will affect up to 439 million adults by 2030 as the global diabetes epidemic continues to grow1.
miRNAs have been shown to target many genes important for proper endocrine function and metabolism. Dysregulation of miRNAs can contribute to endocrine related metabolic disorders such as diabetes and complications of diabetes.
Researchers have identified miRNA expression changes in the retinas of a genetic model of type 1 diabetes, and discovered a potential protective role of miRNA in diabetic retinopathy2. Also, a potentially functional polymorphism in the regulatory region of a let-7 miRNA is associated with an increased risk for diabetic nephropathy3. Finally, there is evidence that expression of specific miRNAs attenuates glomerular hypertrophy, one of the earliest pathological abnormalities in diabetic nephropathy4.
LC Sciences is helping clinicians and researchers with:
More than one-third of adults in the United States have obesity, and obesity-related conditions include some of the leading causes of preventable death (CDC). To understand obesity and its associated diseases, it is important to elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing adipogenesis1.
Various miRNAs are known to play crucial roles in adipose deposition and adipogenesis2. The remarkable inverse regulatory pattern for many miRNAs during adipogenesis and obesity has important implications for understanding adipose tissue dysfunction and the link between chronic inflammation and obesity with insulin resistance3.
Additionally, it has become evident that other epigenetic factors, such as DNA methylation have essential roles in obesity development4.
LC Sciences is helping clinicians and researchers with:
Diagnosis of Methylmalonic academia, a metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of a mitochondrial enzyme, is expensive, complicated, and time consuming1. The invasive nature of liver biopsy makes the histopathological diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) difficult and its diagnostic performance unsatisfactory2. Therefore, miRNA has gained considerable interest for its function as a novel class of non-invasive and sensitive biomarkers for the diagnosis of these and other metabolic disorders.
Predicted targets of dysregulated miRNAs in subjects with NAFLD are known to affect cell proliferation, protein translation, apoptosis, inflammation, oxidative stress and metabolism3.
Researchers also found a functional role of miRNAs, which could therefore represent suitable targets for therapeutic intervention, in nonalcoholic fibrosing steatohepatitis4 and acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure5.
LC Sciences is helping clinicians and researchers with:
16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
16S rRNA gene sequencing is commonly used for identification, classification and quantitation of microbes within complex biological mixture such as environmental samples (ex marine water) and gut samples…
Microbiome Analysis for Discovery of Metabolomic Disorders
Metabolome irregularities are known to induce a variety of disease states in patients and mounting evidence has implicated the microbiome as a key player in properly regulating the flow of metabolites. Not surprisingly, health care professionals have discovered strong correlations between healthy/irregular cellular function and microbial diversity. To enhance our understanding of how bacteria regulate the metabolomic processes which govern disease progression, tools like 16S gene sequencing are being used to profile metagenomic diversity in DNA isolated from a variety of patient samples, including sputum, fecal and tissue.
The 16S rRNA gene is a highly conserved component of the transcriptional machinery of all DNA-based life forms and thus is highly suited as a target gene for sequencing DNA in samples containing up to thousands of different species. Universal PCR primers can be designed to target the conserved regions of 16S making it possible to amplify the gene in a wide range of different microorganisms from a single sample. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S gene and mapping to a curated database of known 16S sequences, thus allows for the identification, classification and quantitation of microbes within complex biological mixtures.
LC Sciences currently offers a comprehensive 16S gene sequencing service which supplies customers with quantitative, species-level identification of human gut microbiota.
Metabolomic Research Services
LC Sciences offers a portfolio of services applicable to metabolic diseases and metabolomic research. Contact us to find out more.
