Abstract:
Objective To explore the characteristic metabolites and related metabolic pathways in plasma and feces of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) using untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomics.
Methods Twenty patients with PDR complicated with vitreous hemorrhage admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University were enrolled as the PDR group. Another 20 sex-and-age-matched inpatients with senile cataract during the same period were selected as the NDR group. Untargeted LC-MS was applied to detect metabolites in plasma and fecal samples from the participants.
Results Nicotinamide, oxalic acid, 3-sulfinylpyruvic acid and phenylacetic acid were significantly elevated in both plasma and feces of the PDR group, while 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanediol and phenylacetylglutamine were significantly decreased in both plasma and feces of the PDR group. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that the common metabolic pathways in plasma and fecal specimens from patients with PDR included nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, lysine degradation, phenylalanine metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism.
Conclusions Nicotinamide, oxalic acid, 3-sulfinylpyruvic acid and phenylacetic acid may serve as pathogenic biomarkers of PDR, whereas 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanediol and phenylacetylglutamine may represent protective metabolites. The underlying mechanism may be associated with disorders of multiple metabolic pathways including arachidonic acid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, lysine degradation, phenylalanine metabolism and tyrosine metabolism, which collectively contribute to the progression of PDR.
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