Low sphingolipid levels predict poor survival in patients with alcohol-related liver disease

• Published in: JHEP reports 2024-02, Vol.6 (2), p.100953, Article 100953
• Main Authors: Kronborg, Thit Mynster, Gao, Qian, Trošt, Kajetan, Ytting, Henriette, O’Connell, Malene Barfod, Werge, Mikkel Parsberg, Thing, Mira, Gluud, Lise Lotte, Hamberg, Ole, Møller, Søren, Moritz, Thomas, Bendtsen, Flemming, Kimer, Nina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol-related cirrhosis; Alcohol-related hepatitis; Free fatty acids; Lipidomics; Triglycerides
• ISSN: 2589-5559; 2589-5559
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100953

Alcohol-related hepatitis (AH) and alcohol-related cirrhosis are grave conditions with poor prognoses. Altered hepatic lipid metabolism can impact disease development and varies between different alcohol-related liver diseases. Therefore, we aimed to investigate lipidomics and metabolomics at various stages of alcohol-related liver diseases and their correlation with survival. Patients with newly diagnosed alcohol-related cirrhosis, who currently used alcohol (ALC-A), stable outpatients with decompensated alcohol-related cirrhosis with at least 8 weeks of alcohol abstinence (ALC), and patients with AH, were compared with each other and with healthy controls (HC). Circulating lipids and metabolites were analysed using HPLC and mass spectrometry. Forty patients with ALC, 95 with ALC-A, 30 with AH, and 42 HC provided plasma. Lipid levels changed according to disease severity, with generally lower levels in AH and cirrhosis than in the HC group; this was most pronounced for AH, followed by ALC-A. Nine out of 10 free fatty acids differed between cirrhosis groups by relative increases of 0.12–0.66 in ALC compared with the ALC-A group (p