Metabolic markers of hypoxia: Systems biology application in biomedicine

The overall goal of this review is to provide insight into methodologies for 'omic investigations and hypoxic biomarkers that have been identified using 'omic techniques. First, a detailed description of current metabolomic, proteomic, and genomic technologies is provided, followed by a basic introduction to biostatistics and how to interpret 'omic data. Metabolomic biomarkers of diseases in which hypoxia plays a role are then reviewed by those that involved chronic (pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer) and acute (stroke, myocardial infarction, ischemia) hypoxia. Data are presented with consideration for the source of hypoxia, the severity of hypoxia, the length of hypoxia, and the cell or organ affected, all of which can have significant effects on biomarker profiles. Drugs that promote and antagonize hypoxia are discussed and important points to consider during tissue collection in hypoxia 'omic studies are then reviewed.