Metabolomic Studies in Girls With Central and Peripheral Precocious Puberty

Precocious puberty (PP) is the beginning of secondary sexual characteristics before eight years of age in girls. “Central precocious puberty (CPP)” occurs due to early activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad axis. “Peripheral precocious puberty (PPP)” is a rarer, and different condition that sidelines the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis, and it depends on the peripheral causes. Metabolomics is the identification, and quantitation small molecule metabolites (<1000 Da) in a certain period. This study aimed to determine the plasma, and urinary metabolic profiles of girls, who were diagnosed with CPP (n=50) or PPP (n=47), and compare their results to control group (n=50). Metabolomics analysis was performed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. After the complex chromatograms were deconvoluted, and aligned, the metabolites were identified using retention index libraries. The results were evaluated statistically using univariate, and multivariate analysis. Binary compressions were performed between groups, and metabolites from amino acids were found to be significantly different between the groups. These alterations in metabolites are suggested for potential biomarkers of PP; however, more comprehensive studies are needed to verify these data, and for validation. In the future, the metabolic alterations underlying different diseases, particularly those of endocrine origin, should be evaluated with mechanistic toxicological studies. This will help the researchers to develop new therapy options, particularly for PP.