Metabolomic analysis of fatal hypothermia using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry.

INTRODUCTION

The identification of fatal hypothermia remains a significant challenge in forensic medicine. Metabolomics, which reflects the overall changes in endogenous metabolites within an organism, holds substantial value in the exploration of disease mechanisms and the screening of molecular markers.

METHODS

Using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry (UHPLC‒MS), we conducted a metabolomic analysis of serum, heart, lung, and kidney tissues from mice with fatal hypothermia.

RESULTS

A total of 67 metabolites significantly differed across all the tissues, involving pathways such as the TCA cycle, fatty acid oxidation, arginine metabolism, histamine metabolism, and antioxidant-related pathways. Each tissue also displayed unique metabolic alterations. Additionally, we observed significant differences in the metabolomic profiles of kidney tissues from mice with different survival times.

CONCLUSION

Our findings contribute to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved and provide a foundation for the forensic identification of markers of fatal hypothermia.