CHAPTER 10: ¹H NMR-based Metabolic Profiling in Infectious Disease Research

This chapter highlights the application of ¹H NMR spectroscopy-based metabolic profiling in infection research, specifically on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and the neglected tropical diseases, such as Schistosomiasis. We describe the use of this approach to investigate the metabolic responses of the host to infectious agents in both in vivo and in vitro models, as well in natural human infections. These metabolic signatures hold significant promise in leading to early and robust diagnosis of a range infectious diseases, including parasitic infections, where often a unique set of metabolites has been found to be associated with infection. In addition, metabolic profiling, together with measures of immune responses and gut microbial composition, provides mechanistic insight into the pathogen–host interactions through the immune–gut microbiota–metabolic axis.