Anju Preet, Tejaswita M. Karve and Amrita K. Cheema
Diabetes mellitus is a multi-factorial disease associated with a dysregulated metabolism. A holistic approach emphasizing each of the individual factors with regards to complete pathophysiology of the disease is critical to our understanding of this heterogeneous disease. Several technical advances in the field of functional genomics such as metabolomics and proteomics aid in comprehending the state of the overall biological system and thus can be utilized to decipher the complex interactions among components of the metabolic system in human diabetes. Above-mentioned techniques combined with a set of bioinformatics tools and available databases aim to profile wide array of proteins and metabolites repertoire in humans. The accurate and comprehensive measurements of these molecules is employed to investigate complex interactions of metabolites and proteins not only among themselves but also with genes, transcripts and other small molecules to decipher cellular microenvironment and the effects due to drug intervention. This review provides an overview of the applications of metabolomics in human diabetes research. We also discuss the potential of combining different bioinformatics tools with the omics approach to advance the scientific knowledge towards discovery of biomarkers to monitor and regulate general human health with respect to the deregulated metabolic state, a characteristic of diabetes mellitus.