Mass Spectrometry-Based Untargeted Metabolite Profiling to Discover Molecular Consequences of Mammalian Cell Infection with Fusobacterium nucleatum.

Untargeted metabolite profiling, aka metabolomics, offers a powerful technology to potentially reveal fundamental molecular mechanisms whereby a perturbation in cell metabolism leads to an alteration in cell growth or physiological maintenance. Notably, this discovery approach does not require any preconceived notion of underlying molecular mechanisms, affording an opportunity to effectively shine a molecular mechanistic spotlight in a direction that an informed investigator may not have thought to consider. Fusobacterium nucleatum colonization has been linked to the initiation and promotion of the colorectal cancer and other pathologies. Although F. nucleatum infection can modulate mammalian cell signaling pathways involved in inflammation and host defense, the broad impact of F. nucleatum on host cell metabolism is poorly defined. Here, we describe the application of untargeted LC/MS-based profiling of cell metabolites as a tool to comprehensively assess the impact of F. nucleatum infection on mammalian cell metabolism. Untargeted metabolite profiling offers an unprecedented opportunity for the generation of novel molecular mechanistic hypotheses for subsequent confirmation by targeted orthologous investigations.