Jasrai Gill on Metabolomics in Cardio-Oncology
By: Jasrai Gill
Tags: Biology, Science, New Jersey, Technology, Medicine

Metabolomics, the study of small molecule metabolites in a cell, has emerged as a discipline central to the study of cardio-oncology, a field focused on the intersection of cardiovascular and oncologic diseases. The ability to interpret data and extract information from analyzing cellular metabolites offers great opportunities for cardiologists and oncologists to understand more about the underlying biochemistry of disease. Understanding the overlap between cancer and heart disease from the perspective of cellular metabolism will allow for a novel vantage point form which to treat co-existing diseases, thought previously to be disparate entities.

Jasrai Gill of Neptune City, New Jersey, is a cardiologist and chief medical officer whose job covers many departments including interventional cardiology, cardio-oncology, vascular medicine, drug development, and biotechnology. He graduated from Albany Medical College in 2006 and specializes in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology.

What is Metabolomics?

The study of cellular metabolomics is not possible without the use of advanced analytical technologies. According to Dr. Jasrai Gill, the last two decades saw great strides in that field as more resources were poured into developing sophisticated analytical methodologies to study metabolites, proteins, and gene expression.

Metabolomics is part of a novel approach called the ‘omics’ approach. It includes such diverse fields as proteomics, transcriptomics, and genomics. All of these fields complement each other when it comes to understanding the genetic and environmental impacts on the biology of the organism. In a way, metabolomics paints a clear picture of the state of the organism, especially from a physiological standpoint. Taking these data in the context of disease allows for a “fingerprint,” or snapshot of how metabolism impacts disease states.

But that’s not always as simple as it might sound, notes Jasrai Gill. One of the biggest challenges facing metabolomics is how to keep the extracted data in a biological context. Most of the new analytical techniques gather a huge amount of data. This requires more advanced processing tools that can sift through that data and analyze it. Therefore, strong underlying hypotheses are necessary to interpret the data in a meaningful way. The metabolome is huge in terms of its chemical structure, and currently untargeted approaches to metabolomics do not account for the vast heterogeneity in cellular metabolism.

Analytical Techniques in Metabolomics

According to Jasrai Gill, the analytical techniques of metabolomics can be classified as either targeted or untargeted, and is generally based on sophisticated mass spectrometry. The main focus of targeted metabolomics analysis is a certain predetermined number of metabolites and pathways of interest. With untargeted analysis, the goal is to get all the metabolomic data from the sample being processed. Naturally, the scope of untargeted metabolomics analysis is much wider than is the case with targeted analysis. Usually, there’s a huge amount of data gathered during the process. This puts the onus of finding the relevant clues on the statistical methods being employed. However, as sophisticated these methods are and how powerful the technology behind them is, the vast amount of data generated needs to be interpreted contextually. The limitation of technology to account for metabolic heterogeneity of disease in time and space has been the major obstacle keeping metabolomics from achieving fast, breakthrough diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Additionally, the biological basis of disease is quite complex and dynamic.

Jasrai Gill on Metabolomics in Cardio-Oncology

Jasrai Gill from Neptune City, New Jersey, on Metabolomics in Cardio-Oncology

Metabolomics and metabolic profiling can play a major role in cardio-oncology. Since cancer patients go through treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, both cardiologists and oncologists need to study the impact of these chemicals on cellular metabolism. Dr. Jasrai Gill believes that there should be a coordinated and team approach between cardiology and oncology physicians to drive research and elucidate novel relationships between diseases of the heart and cancer.

Metabolomics allows researchers to study the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs on patients. With this knowledge, ostensibly both cardiologists and oncologists will be better able to lay out a suitable therapeutic plan that is specific to each patient. If a certain patient shows an adverse reaction to a drug such as doxorubicin, then a relatively safer treatment can be prescribed.

While the field of metabolomics can have great benefits in the study of toxicity and the effects of cancer treatment drugs on patients, it still has a long way to go. However, with the new advances in technology, there’s hope that cardiologists and oncologists will benefit from this promising field.