Research Maria van de Lavoir | Maria van de Lavoir

Research team

Toxicological Centre

Investigating the hair metabolome to characterize the progression of alcoholic liver disease using a multiplatform untargeted metabolomics workflow (METABOHAIR). 01/11/2022 - 31/10/2026

Abstract

Alcohol abuse is a major cause of liver disease worldwide. Despite the high prevalence of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), there is currently a lack of sensitive and specific early biomarkers, resulting in diagnosis at late (irreversible) stages of disease progression. Hair has considerable potential as a new, promising matrix to diagnose ALD early. Segmental hair analysis is based on its growth rate (a length of 1 cm corresponds to ± 1-month growth), constituting a promising method to retrospectively assess biomarkers levels over extended periods (weeks to months). This PhD project aims to explore the applicability of hair as a complementary matrix to identify and monitor early-stage biomarkers of ALD. For this approach, a multiplatform untargeted metabolomics workflow, including a unique analytical platform (liquid chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry), will be employed. Furthermore, several steps will be undertaken to establish fundamental knowledge on human hair's position and utility as a diagnostic matrix, 1) the global composition of hair metabolome and lipidome will be elucidated, and 2) the relationship between the hair and plasma metabolome and lipidome will be investigated. The results of this project will improve our understanding of the position of hair as a diagnostic matrix in chronic (liver) diseases, and the identified ALD biomarkers have the potential to assist disease management in the early disease stage.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Toxicological Centre

Project type(s)

Research Project

Pulling the hairs: Investigating the hair metabolome as a promising approach to characterize the progression of chronic alcoholic liver diseases (METABOLHAIR) 01/11/2021 - 31/10/2022

Abstract

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most prevalent type of chronic liver disease. Despite the high prevalence of ALD, diagnosis and disease staging are still missing sensitive and specific biomarkers. As a result, most patients are diagnosed only at an advanced stage, leading to frequent hospitalization, increased medication use and liver transplantations, a high-burden option for patients and health-care systems. This PhD project (METABOLHAIR) aims to explore the applicability of human hair as a new diagnostic matrix in metabolomics to identify and detect early-stage biomarkers of chronic ALD. This project strives to elucidate the global hair metabolome composition, its inter-individual variations and possible influencing parameters. Identification of ALD biomarkers will be performed using an advanced metabolomics workflow, including a unique analytical platform (two-dimensional liquid chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry). Furthermore, the applicability of the biomarkers in segmental hair analysis to predict disease progression and diagnose the different stages (alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic steatohepatitis) of ALD will be investigated. The METABOLHAIR project will help improve the current knowledge on the hair metabolome and can be used to screen individuals with alcohol use disorders for ALD to prevent the development of end-stage liver diseases.