Serum Metabolites as Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Knee Osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent chronic degenerative joint disease that mainly affects the elderly population. The aim of this study was to investigate serum signature metabolites as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of knee OA. Global serum metabolic profiles of 40 patients with knee OA and 20 healthy controls (HC) were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. An OA-specific metabolic profile was established that can clearly discriminate patients with OA from HCs. Fourteen metabolites that are involved in the metabolism of amino acids, purine, energy, glycolysis, fatty acids, and lipids were significantly altered in patients with OA compared to HCs. These metabolites could be potentially used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of knee OA.