Metabolomics Analysis

Metabolomics is the study of metabolites, which are the small molecules produced during the body’s metabolism. Metabolites are produced in normal body functioning and from external factors including what we eat, touch, or breathe. The total body of metabolites in an organism, cell, or tissue is called the metabolome.

Our study of the metabolomes of people living in the affected area compared to those of unaffected people will look for markers of exposure to the blowout. We will conduct metabolomics analysis on blood samples of individuals affected by the disaster and of people in comparison communities. By looking at each study participant’s personal metabolomic profile, we can determine if metabolite levels associated with different organ systems, such as the brain, heart, or liver are different from people in comparison communities. Different patterns in metabolites can be a precursor or signal of later disease and also reflect the body’s response to exposures.

Understanding which systems may have been impacted by exposure can help affected communities understand their health risks.

We will use two data sources for this analysis:

  • Newborn blood spots: Hospitals routinely collect blood samples from newborns using a heel prick 12 to 24 hours after birth and report them to the California Genetic Disease Screening Program. We will obtain 2,600 of these blood spots from the affected and comparison communities from before, during, and after the disaster.

  • Clinical assessments: We will collect blood samples from 600 study participants during clinical assessments.

We will use two different methods to conduct two different studies with blood samples:

  • Liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry: We will measure differences in the metabolome in the blood samples from residents of affected and comparison communities. We will also compare the results in the affected communities to other reference populations. In addition to responses of the metabolome to exposure or disease states, more than 450 chemicals additionally can be detected by gas chromatography, as described below, in blood samples and nearly 250 can be reliably quantified. (See Supplementary Table for list of chemicals, and which can be identified and/or quantified.)

  • Gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry: We will try to detect environmental chemical exposures for a broad range of chemicals that can be identified in blood samples (refer to Supplementary Data 4 and Supplementary Data 5). The level of environmental chemical exposures detected vary depending on the population studied. However, one challenge of this analysis is that some volatile chemicals such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, hexane, hydrogen sulfide, and formaldehyde, may be lost during storage of dried blood spots.

For more information about metabolomics, please refer to the publications below: