ORIGINAL Metabonomic Analysis of Urine from Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Rats Using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Abstract Depression is a prevalent complex psychiatric disorder and its pathophysiological mechanism is not yet well understood. In this study, we investigated the metabolic pro-filing of urine samples from chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats to find potential disease biomarkers and research pathology of depression. Metabolome in urine was analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in conjunction with multivariate statistical techniques. The urine samples of male Sprague–Dawley rats were collected at dif-ferent time points and then were derivatized by methoxima-tion/silylation. Clear separation between the model and control group was achieved, and 15 metabolites were identi-fied, which suggested that the depressed state may be related to neurotransmitter, energy metabolism and immunity. The time-dependent trajectory of metabolites pattern revealed that the maximum biochemical change happened on the 21st day, which was consistent with the results of behavior tests. The study suggested that the metabonomic approach could be used as a potentially powerful tool to investigate the biochemical change in certain physiopathological conditions, such as depression, as an early diagnostic means