Metabolomics with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in a Drosophila melanogaster Model of Surviving Sepsis

Abstract

Patients surviving sepsis demonstrate sustained inflammation, which has been associated with long-term complications. One of the main mechanisms behind sustained inflammation is a metabolic switch in parenchymal and immune cells, thus understanding metabolic alterations after sepsis may provide important insights to the pathophysiology of sepsis recovery. In this study, we explored metabolomics in a novel <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> model of surviving sepsis using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), to determine metabolite profiles. We used a model of percutaneous infection in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> to mimic sepsis. We had three experimental groups: sepsis survivors (infected with Staphylococcus aureus and treated with oral linezolid), sham (pricked with an aseptic needle), and unmanipulated (positive control). We performed metabolic measurements seven days after sepsis. We then implemented metabolites detected in NMR spectra into the MetExplore web server in order to identify the metabolic pathway alterations in sepsis surviving <i>Drosophila</i>. Our NMR metabolomic approach in a <i>Drosophila</i> model of recovery from sepsis clearly distinguished between all three groups and showed two different metabolomic signatures of inflammation. Sham flies had decreased levels of maltose, alanine, and glutamine, while their level of choline was increased. Sepsis survivors had a metabolic signature characterized by decreased glucose, maltose, tyrosine, beta-alanine, acetate, glutamine, and succinate.