Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats

Background: Oxycodone has an elevated abuse liability profile compared to other prescription opioid medications. However, many human and rodent metabolomics studies have not been specifically focused on oxycodone. Objectives: Investigating metabolomics changes associated with oxycodone exposure can...

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Main Authors: Thao Vu, Suneeta Godbole, Lieselot L. G. Carrette, Lisa Maturin, Olivier George, Laura M. Saba, Katerina Kechris
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Metabolites
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/2/95
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author Thao Vu
Suneeta Godbole
Lieselot L. G. Carrette
Lisa Maturin
Olivier George
Laura M. Saba
Katerina Kechris
author_facet Thao Vu
Suneeta Godbole
Lieselot L. G. Carrette
Lisa Maturin
Olivier George
Laura M. Saba
Katerina Kechris
author_sort Thao Vu
collection DOAJ
description Background: Oxycodone has an elevated abuse liability profile compared to other prescription opioid medications. However, many human and rodent metabolomics studies have not been specifically focused on oxycodone. Objectives: Investigating metabolomics changes associated with oxycodone exposure can provide insights into biochemical mechanisms of the addiction cycle and prognosis prediction. Methods: Plasma samples from 16 rats at pre-exposure and intoxication time points were profiled on the Metabolon platform. A total of 941 metabolites were characterized. We employed a k-Nearest Neighbor imputation to impute metabolites with low levels of missingness and binarized metabolites with moderate levels of missingness, respectively. Results: Of the 136 binarized metabolites, 6 showed differential abundance (FDR < 0.05), including 5 that were present at pre-exposure but absent at intoxication (e.g., <i>adenine</i>), while <i>linoleamide (18:2n6)</i> exhibited the opposite behavior. Among the 798 metabolites with low levels of missingness, 364 showed significant changes between pre-exposure and intoxication (FDR < 0.01), including <i>succinate</i>, <i>oleamide</i>, and <i>sarcosine</i>. We identified four pathways, including <i>tryptophan metabolism,</i> that were nominally enriched among the metabolites that change with oxycodone exposure (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Furthermore, we identified several metabolites that showed nominal correlations with the Addiction Index (composite of oxycodone behaviors): 17 at pre-exposure and 8 at intoxication. In addition, the changes in abundance between pre-exposure and intoxication time points of 9 metabolites were nominally correlated with the Addiction Index, including <i>sphingomyelins</i>, <i>methylhistidines</i>, and <i>glycerols</i>. Conclusions: In summary, not only were we able to capture oxy-induced changes in metabolic pathways using easily accessible blood samples, but we also demonstrated the potential of blood metabolomics to better understand addiction liability.
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spelling doaj-art-d5dfe3939105413fbb4285df1e87f3462025-08-20T02:44:32ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892025-02-011529510.3390/metabo15020095Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in RatsThao Vu0Suneeta Godbole1Lieselot L. G. Carrette2Lisa Maturin3Olivier George4Laura M. Saba5Katerina Kechris6Department of Biostatistics & Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USADepartment of Biostatistics & Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USADepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USADepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USADepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USADepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USADepartment of Biostatistics & Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USABackground: Oxycodone has an elevated abuse liability profile compared to other prescription opioid medications. However, many human and rodent metabolomics studies have not been specifically focused on oxycodone. Objectives: Investigating metabolomics changes associated with oxycodone exposure can provide insights into biochemical mechanisms of the addiction cycle and prognosis prediction. Methods: Plasma samples from 16 rats at pre-exposure and intoxication time points were profiled on the Metabolon platform. A total of 941 metabolites were characterized. We employed a k-Nearest Neighbor imputation to impute metabolites with low levels of missingness and binarized metabolites with moderate levels of missingness, respectively. Results: Of the 136 binarized metabolites, 6 showed differential abundance (FDR < 0.05), including 5 that were present at pre-exposure but absent at intoxication (e.g., <i>adenine</i>), while <i>linoleamide (18:2n6)</i> exhibited the opposite behavior. Among the 798 metabolites with low levels of missingness, 364 showed significant changes between pre-exposure and intoxication (FDR < 0.01), including <i>succinate</i>, <i>oleamide</i>, and <i>sarcosine</i>. We identified four pathways, including <i>tryptophan metabolism,</i> that were nominally enriched among the metabolites that change with oxycodone exposure (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Furthermore, we identified several metabolites that showed nominal correlations with the Addiction Index (composite of oxycodone behaviors): 17 at pre-exposure and 8 at intoxication. In addition, the changes in abundance between pre-exposure and intoxication time points of 9 metabolites were nominally correlated with the Addiction Index, including <i>sphingomyelins</i>, <i>methylhistidines</i>, and <i>glycerols</i>. Conclusions: In summary, not only were we able to capture oxy-induced changes in metabolic pathways using easily accessible blood samples, but we also demonstrated the potential of blood metabolomics to better understand addiction liability.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/2/95plasma metabolomicsprescription opioidsoxycodone exposurerodent model
spellingShingle Thao Vu
Suneeta Godbole
Lieselot L. G. Carrette
Lisa Maturin
Olivier George
Laura M. Saba
Katerina Kechris
Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats
Metabolites
plasma metabolomics
prescription opioids
oxycodone exposure
rodent model
title Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats
title_full Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats
title_fullStr Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats
title_full_unstemmed Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats
title_short Identification of Plasma Metabolites Responding to Oxycodone Exposure in Rats
title_sort identification of plasma metabolites responding to oxycodone exposure in rats
topic plasma metabolomics
prescription opioids
oxycodone exposure
rodent model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/2/95
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