Screening of radiation gastrointestinal injury biomarkers in rat plasma by high-coverage targeted lipidomics

Introduction In the event of radiological accidents and cancer radiotherapies in the clinic, the gastrointestinal (GI) system is vulnerable to ionizing radiation and shows GI injury. Accessible biomarkers may provide means to predict, evaluate, and treat GI tissue damage. The current study investigated radiation GI injury biomarkers in rat plasma. Material and methods High-coverage targeted lipidomics was employed to profile lipidome perturbations at 72 h after 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 Gy (Co-60 gamma-rays at 1 Gy/min) total-body irradiation in male rat jejunum. The results were correlated with previous plasma screening outcomes. Results In total, 93 differential metabolites and 28 linear dose-responsive metabolites were screened in the jejunum. Moreover, 52 lipid species with significant differences both in jejunum and plasma were obtained. Three lipid species with linear dose-response relationship both in jejunum and plasma were put forth, which exhibited good to excellent sensitivity and specificity in triaging different exposure levels. Discussion The linear dose-effect relationship of lipid metabolites in the jejunum and the triage performance of radiation GI injury biomarkers in plasma were studied for the first time. Conclusion The present study can provide insights into expanded biomarkers of IR-mediated GI injury and minimally invasive assays for evaluation.