Ionizing radiation can damage tissues through direct DNA damage or indirectly through reacting with water to produce free hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals. Therefore, this provides a great system to understand how increased oxidative stress effects small molecules and radical prone lipids.
Currently, we utilize state-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS) platforms for developing global metabolomic and lipidomic radiation signatures from nonhuman primates (NHPs), genetically engineered mouse models, and human biofluids. We have identified several metabolites involved in pathways ranging from energy and redox metabolism, fatty acid β-oxidation, tryptophan metabolism, purine catabolism, among others, that consistently change and may predict dose and time after exposure.
We also develop in house targeted methodology using highly sensitive triple quadrupole MS. Some of these include eicosanoid analyses, the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids produced through the cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX), and cytochrome P450 pathways. As these compounds contribute to inflammation and host defense, their quantitative analysis is vital to understanding perturbation to biological systems. In addition, as determining rigor and reproducibility of biomarker panels is critical, we develop multiplex high-throughput LC-MS assays to test their utility in biodosimetry applications.