Integrated Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Reveal Metabolism Variations in Hyperoxia-Induced Neonatal Alveolar Simplification Rats

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease that affects premature newborns. Alveolar simplification and an underdeveloped pulmonary vasculature are side effects of long-term hyperoxia therapy in newborns; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we conducted transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses of neonatal rats exposed to 85% oxygen. Hyperoxia upregulated metabolites and transcripts involved in amino sugar, nucleotide sugar, and amino acid metabolism. Finally, through joint analysis, we propose that changes in hexosamine metabolism are associated with changes in mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle pathway metabolism at various stages of the BPD model.Funding: This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82071688), Joint plan of Liaoning Provincial Key R&D Program (2020JH2/10300152) and Key R&D Guidance Plan Projects of Liaoning Province (2020JH1/10300001).Declaration of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Ethical Approval: All procedures involving animals were carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the National Health and Medical Research Committee of China and were approved by the Animal Ethics Review Committee of Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University (approval number: 2020PS764K).