Identification of Serum-Based Metabolic Feature and Characteristic Metabolites in Paraquat Intoxicated Mouse Models

Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide which can cause high mortality to humans. However, relatively few studies focus on metabolic feature of PQ intoxication for investigating the underlying mechanisms. Here we performed non-targeted metabolomics profiling of serum samples from acute and chronic PQ intoxicated mouse models by gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF/MS) to identify metabolic feature and characteristic metabolites of acute and chronic PQ intoxication. Results showed that 3-indolepropionic acid (IPA) and pathway of glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism were significantly altered after acute PQ intoxication; 2-hydroxybutyric acid and the ratio of L-serine/glycine were of significance between acute and chronic PQ intoxication. Then targeted metabolomics profiling was conducted by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis to confirm the changes of IPA after acute PQ intoxication. Moreover, IPA-producing gut bacteria in feces were quantified by qRT-PCR to explain the varied IPA serum concentration. and were significantly suppressed after acute PQ intoxication. The data suggested that PQ caused oxidative damage partially through suppression of anti-oxidative metabolite producing gut bacteria. In conclusion, we identified characteristic metabolites and pathway of acute and chronic PQ intoxication which could be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.