Metabolomic Analysis of the Effect of Postnatal Hypoxia on the Retina in a Newly Born Piglet Model

The availability of reliable biomarkers of brain injury secondary to birth asphyxia could substantially improve clinical grading, therapeutic intervention strategies, and prognosis. In this study, changes in the metabolome of retinal tissue caused by profound hypoxia in an established neonatal piglet model were investigated using an ultra performance liquid chromatography – quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOFMS) untargeted metabolomic approach, which included Partial Least Squares – Discriminant Analysis (PLSDA) multivariate data analysis. The initial identification of a set of discriminant metabolites from UPLC-QTOFMS data was confirmed by target UPLC-MS/MS and allowed the selection of endogenous CDP-choline as a promising candidate biomarker for hypoxia-derived brain damage assessing intensity of retinal hypoxia. Results from this study will foster further research on CDP-choline changes occurring during resuscitation.