Metabolomics analysis of the saliva in patients with chronic hepatitis B using nuclear magnetic resonance: a pilot study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

2 Integrative Oncology Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

3 Digestive Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Chemistry, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

5 Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

6 Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran

7 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran

Abstract

Objective(s): Hepatitis B virus infection causes chronic disease such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The metabolomics investigations have been demonstrated to be related to pathophysiologic mechanisms in many disorders such as hepatitis B infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the saliva metabolic profile of patients with chronic hepatitis B infection and to identify underlying mechanisms as well as potential biomarkers associated with the disease.
Materials and Methods: Saliva from 16 healthy subjects and 20 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Then, multivariate statistical analysis was performed to identify discriminative metabolites between two groups.
Results: A set of metabolites were detected, including propionic acid, putrescine, acetic acid, succinic acid, tyrosine, lactic acid, butyric acid, pyruvic acid, 4-pyridoxic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, which in combination with one another could accurately distinguish patients from healthy controls. Our results clearly demonstrated altered metabolites are involved in nine metabolic pathways.
Conclusion: Metabolomics has the potential to be considered as a novel clinical tool for hepatitis B diagnosis while contributing to a comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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