Abstract
Metabolomics is an emerging field that involves qualitative and quantitative measurements of small molecule metabolites in a biological system. This information is useful for developing biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis or predicting response to therapy. The Metabolomics Research Group has organized a multi-laboratory study wherein human plasma samples were spiked with different amounts of metabolite standards in two groups of biological samples (A and B). The participants were asked to report back metabolites that were deemed to be significantly different between the two biological groups with the help of analytical platforms and bioinformatics analyses that are routinely used in their laboratories. The participants were given the option to carry out the analysis blinded (non-targeted metabolomics) or with the knowledge of the spiked-in compounds (targeted metabolomics). The returned data show that the use of multiple platforms provides complementary information that helps increase metabolome coverage. Quantitation for spiked-in metabolites with high endogenous plasma levels was not as accurate as for compounds present at low endogenous levels. Participant data confirm that metabolite identification remains an important bottleneck in the field. We will summarize the data and provide some benchmarks that laboratories can use to compare their methodologies.