What is Metabolomics?

Metabolomics is the study of pro-inflammatory bio-markers and their relationship to the disease process. Our partner Naviaux Labs developed a novel mass spectrometry-based method that allows for the measurement of over 500 molecules. Some people have likened these NextGen metabolomics methods to a new lens, like the Hubble telescope, that allow us to see deeper and with greater clarity into the universe of the cell than has been possible before.

Metabolomics is a promising diagnostic tool in early and pre-symptmatic onset of disease. By utilizing these methods, we can understand the unique and common elements of the disease pathway. It is our hope that this approach will lead us towards personalized treatment that would interrupt the development or progression of chronic illness. The study of small molecule biochemical markers would allow us to see that disease has started before organ damage has taken root.

This research has led to a new understanding of the ancient biology that underlies the biochemical cycle of injury and recovery. We now understand that removing triggers is only one element of effective treatment. The body must be supported to complete the healing cycle.

We are discovering new medicines and validating treatments for disorders that were once thought to be permanent and irreversible.

“NextGen Metabolomics allow us to see deeper and with greater clarity into the universe of the cell than has ever been possible before”

— Robert Naviaux MD, PhD

The Science of Metabolomics

 Metabolomics is the science of measuring small molecules in body fluids; these are the chemicals that your body uses to build tissue and create energy.

The molecules consist of:

  • Lipids that make up your cell membranes

  • Amino acids that your cells use to build proteins

  •  Enzymes and smaller molecules which your body uses to transfer energy and information

  • Many others which the body uses to send signals from cell to cell  

We call these molecules small because we are measuring chemicals that weigh less than a thousand daltons.  A dalton is defined as the weight as 1 hydrogen molecule. Enzymes and strands of DNA can weigh hundreds of thousand to millions of daltons.  

Anytime we look at the world the tools we use define what we see.  If we look at the world with a light microscope we see one world, if we use an electron microscope we gather different information.   Each one gives us a different view of reality.

When we look at genetics we are looking through one lens.  When we change the lens and we look at metabolomics we see how the body’s genes are responding to the environment.

The genes tell us the possibilities that your body can make in response to environmental, the metabolomics tell us what response is actually happening in real time

Genetics reveals predisposition and metabolomics shows us if those genetic predispositions have become reality.

Metabolomics has the potential to tell us what your body is doing now and as we collect more data it will be able to tell us where your body is going. This is foundational to personalized preventative and regenerative medicine.