Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2025
Generation of a Mouse Spontaneous Autoimmune Thyroiditis Model
Published on: March 17, 2023
Serum metabolite profiles of thyroid autoimmunity patients in early pregnancy
Zhaoying Chen1, Zhenyu Lin2, Yiyang Gao1
1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Background:
Research on serum metabolite profiles in thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) patients during early pregnancy is currently limited.
Aim & Methods:
The current study aimed to identify differential serum metabolites and assess the relationship between pregnancy outcomes and metabolic abnormalities in individuals with TAI. This research included 26 pregnant women with TAI and 30 healthy controls (HC). We employed a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS) to analyze changes between the two groups.
Results:
Newborns in the TAI patients had lower birth weights than those in the control group (P = 0.007). We identified 92 differential metabolites (including 50 upregulated and 42 downregulated) belonging to amino acids, fatty acyls, glycerophosphocholines, steroid and other categories and four significantly enrichment Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways including taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, citrate cycle (TCA cycle), glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism and 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism. We further identified 15 characteristic metabolites (6-Methylquinoline, D-erythrose 4-phosphate, 4-Hydroxyisoleucine, phosphatidylcholine (PC)(16:2e/16:0), N3,N4-Dimethyl-L-arginine, N-desmethyltramadol, 3-Methoxybenzaldehyde, sphingomyelin (SM)(d14:3/28:2), gamma-Glutamylleucine, NSI-189, 3-(1-cyano-1,2-dihydroisoquinolin-2-yl)-3-oxopropyl propionate, lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) 16:0, cis-Aconitic acid, polyamide (PA)(18:1/18:2) and fatty acyl esters of hydroxy fatty acid (FAHFA)(17:0/18:0)) using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. Correlation analyses revealed that 6-Methylquinoline, D-erythrose 4-phosphate, gamma-Glutamylleucine, and LPI 16:0 exhibited a positive correlation with anemia before delivery, while 3-(1-cyano-1,2-dihydroisoquinolin-2-yl)-3-oxopropyl propionate had a negative correlation. LPI 16:0 displayed a positive correlation with uric acid (UA) during both middle and late pregnancy, whereas 3-Methoxybenzaldehyde exhibited a negative correlation with UA in late pregnancy. Cis-Aconitic acid showed a positive correlation with fasting blood glucose (FBG) in middle pregnancy. Conversely, 6-Methylquinoline and 4-Hydroxyisoleucine had a negative correlation with birth weight. Thyroid autoantibodies were found to be associated with 14 metabolites identified using LASSO, with the exception of PA (18:1/18:2).
Conclusions:
Our findings provide new evidence supporting the early screening of serum metabolites and their potential for predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with TAI.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Synthesis and Regulation of Thyroid Hormones
Upon reaching the thyroid gland, TSH stimulates the follicular cells' active uptake of iodide ions from the blood. The ions diffuse to the apical surface of the cells and are oxidized to iodine. The...
01:18Functions of Thyroid Hormones
TH is indispensable for the normal development and maturation of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems during fetal and childhood growth. It facilitates bone mineral turnover and regulates protein synthesis in developing tissues, contributing significantly to overall growth and...
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...