Application of Metabonomic Approach in Target Organ Toxicity

Abstract

The report and understanding of interactions among genes, proteins and metabolites is of crucial importance in the classification of mechanisms involved in chemical/drug-induced toxicity. Consequently, the application of the “omics” technologies (genomics, proteomics and metabonomics), and mainly metabonomics, is imperative in toxicological studies. Metabonomics has been widely used in established models of target organ toxicity in order to monitor the effect of the toxic agents and possibly identify novel biomarkers of toxicity. In the present review, the applications of metabonomics in toxicological studies have been reported. Although limitations from the use of this technology in toxicology still exist, its combination with genomics and proteomics could provide valuable information for the underlying mechanisms of target organ toxicity. Keywords: brain; heart; kidney; liver; metabolomics; toxicity