Metabolic plasma profiling of the metabolic syndrome and cancer cachexia

Abdominal obesity together with insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and hypertension are hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome (MeS). Furthermore, this disease is also characterized by a low-grade-inflammatory status of adipose tissue causing changes in lipid metabolism of adipocytes by misbalancing uptake, deposition and release of lipids and free fatty acids (FFAs). Markers for abnormal lipid metabolism and inflammation are also found to be elevated in patients suffering from cancer cachexia (CaC). We suppose that pathological alterations of the lipid metabolism are main contributors in MeS and CaC. Therefore, we hypothesize that metabolic signatures comprising lipid, eicosanoid and cytokine patterns are reflecting disease states and disease progression and can help to monitor the impact of clinical interventions. In this study, a comprehensive plasma profiling will be applied to characterize the lipid, eicosanoid and cytokine patterns of patients suffering from MeS and CaC. The goal of the project is to identify metabolic signatures indicative for the onset and progression of the diseases and for determining the therapeutic efficacy of clinical interventions. The Karl Landsteiner Private University of Health Sciences holds the lead of the project. Additional partners are the University of Vienna and Medical Universities of Vienna and Graz. The project was funded by the Niederösterreichische Forschungs- und Bildungsges.m.b.H. (NFB).