Clinical significance of small molecule metabolites in the blood of patients with different types of liver injury

To understand the characteristic of changes of serum metabolites between healthy people and patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection at different stages of disease, and to provide reference metabolomics information for clinical diagnosis of liver disease patients. 255 patients with different stages of HBV infection were selected. 3 mL blood was collected from each patient in the morning to detect differences in serum lysophosphatidylcholine, acetyl-l-carnitine, oleic acid amide, and glycocholic acid concentrations by UFLC-IT-TOF/MS. The diagnostic values of four metabolic substances were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The results showed that the optimal cut-off value of oleic acid amide concentration of the liver cirrhosis and HCC groups was 23.6 mg/L, with a diagnostic sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 70.6%. The diagnostic efficacies of the three substances were similar in the hepatitis and HCC groups, with an optimal cut-off value of 2.04 mg/L, and a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 47.2%, respectively. The optimal cut-off value of lecithin of the HBV-carrier and HCC groups was 132.85 mg/L, with a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 88.9% and 66.7%, respectively. The optimal cut-off value of oleic acid amide of the healthy and HCC groups was 129.03 mg/L, with a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 88.4% and 83.3%, respectively. Lysophosphatidylcholine, acetyl-l-carnitine, and oleic acid amide were potential metabolic markers of HCC. Among them, lysophosphatidylcholine was low in the blood of HCC patients, and its diagnostic efficacy was better than that of acetyl-l-carnitine and oleic acid amide, providing reference metabolomics information in clinical diagnosis and future research.

Automated summary

This study investigated the characteristic changes in serum metabolites between healthy individuals and patients with HBV infection at different stages of the disease. The results suggest that oleic acid amide may serve as a potential metabolic marker for HCC, showing promising diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.