Metabolic deuterium oxide labeling in studying environmental diseases

Abstract

Environmental diseases are illness developed directly by environmental factors such as diet, radiation, and toxic chemicals. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind environmental diseases not only enables the identification of potential intervention targets but also facilitates the development of specific biomarkers for early detection and accurate diagnosis. Quantitative mass spectrometry coupled with stable isotope-labeling techniques has played pivotal roles in the identification of biomarkers and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms associated with diseases. Deuterium oxide (D2O) emerges as an attractive stable isotope-labeling precursor for metabolic labeling due to its cost-effectiveness, simplicity of administration, and ability to label a wide range of biomolecules and biological systems. This presentation describes the unique characteristics of D2O as an isotope-labeling precursor and explore the biological pathways and target sites associated with D2O labeling for different types of biomolecules. Furthermore, practical applications of metabolic D2O labeling in diverse quantitative omics experiments are demonstrated with previous studies that employed this technique for metabolic flux analysis, biological turnover rate measurement, and relative quantification.