Lecture
Uncharted biology: unlocking the hidden metabolome in reproductive health
- at -
- ICM Saal 2
- Type: Lecture
Lecture description
V. González-Ruiz, L. Alonso-Dasques, I. Fernández-Prades, C. MuñozSan Martín, M. Fernández-García, C. Barbas
Reproductive biology remains an underexplored area of human metabolomics, despite its central importance for fertility, assisted reproduction, and reproductive organsassociated diseases [1]. Many of the relevant samples in this context are analytically challenging by nature due to their limited availability, and to their complex and dynamic compositions. Thus, much of their metabolic information remains hidden.
This communication will illustrate how dedicated metabolomics strategies shed light on this poorly known biochemical space and provide new insights into reproductive health. Examples will span a range of reproductive matrices, including embryo cell culture media, seminal fluid or vaginal exudates, applying analytical strategies aimed at broadening the biochemical coverage and improving sensitivity to look beyond the known metabolome in these biological samples.
Embryo cell culture media represent a particularly high-impact yet low-volume matrix. By applying sensitive metabolomics workflows to this matrix, we have identified metabolic differences enabling early, non-invasive classification of viable and non-viable blastocysts to support embryo assessment without interfering with embryo development. Male reproductive health is particularly understudied [2], and in this regard, we have generated the first comprehensive metabolic atlas of human seminal fluid by integrating capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) for polar metabolites with a lipidomics strategy. This view provides a detailed baseline of seminal plasma and enables robust comparisons across clinical conditions. Using this framework, we have identified distinct metabolic and oxylipin signatures associated with testicular cancer.
Beyond fertility and male reproductive disorders, we have shown that metabolomics of vaginal exudates can discriminate patients with early-stage human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, demonstrating the value of local, minimally invasive sampling for infection stratification and early disease detection.
The communication will also outline ongoing analytical developments aimed at further expanding metabolome coverage in reproductive health. These include new ionization sources, cutting-edge mass spectrometry instrumentation for improved oxylipin profiling, and advances in interfacing and low-volume sampling for scarce samples in CE-MS.
Together, these examples illustrate how analytical innovation and multi-platform metabolomics can reveal previously inaccessible metabolic information, helping to unlock the full potential of reproductive samples in both research and clinical contexts.
[1] Simopoulou, M. et al. Front. Endocrinol. 16, 1558561 (2025).
[2] Oluwaloseyi, A. V. et al. Clin. Chim. Acta 556, 117850 (2024).
Reproductive biology remains an underexplored area of human metabolomics, despite its central importance for fertility, assisted reproduction, and reproductive organsassociated diseases [1]. Many of the relevant samples in this context are analytically challenging by nature due to their limited availability, and to their complex and dynamic compositions. Thus, much of their metabolic information remains hidden.
This communication will illustrate how dedicated metabolomics strategies shed light on this poorly known biochemical space and provide new insights into reproductive health. Examples will span a range of reproductive matrices, including embryo cell culture media, seminal fluid or vaginal exudates, applying analytical strategies aimed at broadening the biochemical coverage and improving sensitivity to look beyond the known metabolome in these biological samples.
Embryo cell culture media represent a particularly high-impact yet low-volume matrix. By applying sensitive metabolomics workflows to this matrix, we have identified metabolic differences enabling early, non-invasive classification of viable and non-viable blastocysts to support embryo assessment without interfering with embryo development. Male reproductive health is particularly understudied [2], and in this regard, we have generated the first comprehensive metabolic atlas of human seminal fluid by integrating capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) for polar metabolites with a lipidomics strategy. This view provides a detailed baseline of seminal plasma and enables robust comparisons across clinical conditions. Using this framework, we have identified distinct metabolic and oxylipin signatures associated with testicular cancer.
Beyond fertility and male reproductive disorders, we have shown that metabolomics of vaginal exudates can discriminate patients with early-stage human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, demonstrating the value of local, minimally invasive sampling for infection stratification and early disease detection.
The communication will also outline ongoing analytical developments aimed at further expanding metabolome coverage in reproductive health. These include new ionization sources, cutting-edge mass spectrometry instrumentation for improved oxylipin profiling, and advances in interfacing and low-volume sampling for scarce samples in CE-MS.
Together, these examples illustrate how analytical innovation and multi-platform metabolomics can reveal previously inaccessible metabolic information, helping to unlock the full potential of reproductive samples in both research and clinical contexts.
[1] Simopoulou, M. et al. Front. Endocrinol. 16, 1558561 (2025).
[2] Oluwaloseyi, A. V. et al. Clin. Chim. Acta 556, 117850 (2024).
