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Updated: Aug 29, 2025
Identification and Quantification of Deranged Metabolites in Critically Ill Patients Using NMR-Based Metabolomics
Published on: November 29, 2024
Using an untargeted metabolomics approach to analyze serum metabolites in COVID-19 patients with nucleic acid turning
Wenyu Chen1, Ming Yao2, Miaomiao Chen3
1Department of Respiration, Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China.
Insights
Metabolomic analysis reveals persistent metabolic dysregulation in recovered COVID-19 patients. Amino acid and lipid metabolism alterations may contribute to long-COVID, necessitating targeted post-treatment care for full recovery.
Area of Science:
- Metabolomics
- Biochemistry
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- COVID-19 has impacted global health, leading to increased recovery rates.
- Limited research exists on post-treatment metabolic changes in COVID-19 survivors.
- Understanding these metabolic shifts is crucial for managing long-term health consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate serum metabolite variations in COVID-19 patients post-nucleic acid negativity compared to healthy controls.
- To identify specific metabolic pathways affected by COVID-19 infection.
- To explore potential links between metabolic dysregulation and long-COVID symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Untargeted metabolomics analysis using High-resolution UHPLC-MS/MS.
- Comparison of 20 recovered COVID-19 patients (CT ≥ 35) with 20 healthy controls.
- Collection and analysis of clinical indicators for both groups.
Main Results:
- 203 out of 714 identified metabolites showed significant differences between COVID-19 patients and controls.
- Key altered metabolites include amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerophospholipids.
- Significant differences were also observed in clinical indicators like monocytes, lymphocytes, albumin, and bilirubin levels.
Conclusions:
- Recovered COVID-19 patients exhibit persistent dysregulation in amino acid and lipid metabolism.
- These metabolic alterations may underlie the development of long-COVID.
- Targeted post-treatment care focusing on metabolic recovery is recommended for COVID-19 patients.
Abstract:
Background: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe public health issue that has infected millions of people. The effective prevention and control of COVID-19 has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of cured cases. However, little research has been done on a complete metabonomic examination of metabolic alterations in COVID-19 patients following treatment. The current project pursues rigorously to characterize the variation of serum metabolites between healthy controls and COVID-19 patients with nucleic acid turning negative via untargeted metabolomics. Methods: The metabolic difference between 20 COVID-19 patients (CT ≥ 35) and 20 healthy controls were investigated utilizing untargeted metabolomics analysis employing High-resolution UHPLC-MS/MS. COVID-19 patients' fundamental clinical indicators, as well as health controls, were also collected. Results: Out of the 714 metabolites identified, 203 still significantly differed between COVID-19 patients and healthy controls, including multiple amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerophospholipids. The clinical indexes including monocytes, lymphocytes, albumin concentration, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin have also differed between our two groups of participators. Conclusion: Our results clearly showed that in COVID-19 patients with nucleic acid turning negative, their metabolism was still dysregulated in amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism, which could be the mechanism of long-COVID and calls for specific post-treatment care to help COVID-19 patients recover.
