Identification of diagnostic markers related to fecal and plasma metabolism in primary Sjögren's syndrome

• Published in: American journal of translational research 2022-01, Vol.14 (10), p.7378-7390
• Main Authors: Han, Jianxing, Zeng, Aiming, Hou, Ziqi, Xu, Yanan, Zhao, Hua, Wang, Bei, Guan, Wenzhao, An, Ying, Liang, Shufen, Ma, Yufeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original
• ISSN: 1943-8141; 1943-8141

BACKGROUNDAccurate diagnostic techniques for patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are needed. This study aimed to investigate new biomarkers related to fecal and plasma metabolism from pSS patients. METHODSThe feces and plasma of 21 pSS patients and 18 controls admitted to the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University were collected for analysis. Metabolites in feces and plasma were quantified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The metabolic pathway alterations caused by pSS were studied and the expression of metabolites in the intersecting pathway was analyzed in the feces and plasma of pSS patients. Metabolites that showed the same alterations in feces and plasma in pSS patients were considered as diagnostic markers and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to analyze the sensitivity of these markers in diagnosing pSS. RESULTSThere were 114 and 92 upregulated metabolites and 54 and 125 downregulated metabolites in the feces and plasma of pSS patients, respectively. These metabolites were enriched in 8 pathways for feces and 12 pathways for plasma. Arginine biosynthesis, Linoleic acid metabolism, Tyrosine metabolism, Taurine and hypotaurine metabolism were pathways enriched by metabolites in both samples. Twelves metabolites were enriched in the above four pathways, while only 9,10-12,13-Diepoxyoctadecanoate, Tyramine, 9-OxoODE and 2-Hydroxyethanesulfonate showed the same trend. The candidate diagnostic markers were all predictive, with better diagnostic sensitivity in plasma samples. CONCLUSIONS9,10-12,13-Diepoxyoctadecanoate, Tyramine, 9-OxoODE, 2-Hydroxyethanesulfonate were metabolism-related diagnostic markers for pSS feces and plasma.