Mechanistic Insights into Alzheimer’s Disease Unveiled through the Investigation of Disturbances in Central Metabolites and Metabolic Pathways

• Main Authors: Raúl González-Domínguez, Álvaro González-Domínguez, Ana Sayago, Juan Diego González-Sanz, Alfonso María Lechuga-Sancho, Ángeles Fernández-Recamales
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Biomedicines
• Subjects: central metabolites; Alzheimer’s disease; mass spectrometry; central metabolic pathways
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/9/3/298

Hydrophilic metabolites are closely involved in multiple primary metabolic pathways and, consequently, play an essential role in the onset and progression of multifactorial human disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. This review article provides a comprehensive revision of the literature published on the use of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics platforms for approaching the central metabolome in Alzheimer’s disease research, including direct mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry. Overall, mounting evidence points to profound disturbances that affect a multitude of central metabolic pathways, such as the energy-related metabolism, the urea cycle, the homeostasis of amino acids, fatty acids and nucleotides, neurotransmission, and others.