Interferon-Linked Lipid and Bile Acid Imbalance Uncovered in Ankylosing Spondylitis in a Sibling-Controlled...

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) displays wide inter-patient variability that is not accounted for by HLA-B27 alone, suggesting that additional immune and metabolic modifiers contribute to disease severity. Using a genetically matched design, we profiled peripheral blood mononuclear cells from two brother pairs discordant for AS severity and one healthy brother pair. Strand-specific RNA-seq was analyzed with a family-blocked DESeq2 model, while untargeted metabolites were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Differential features were defined as follows: differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (|log₂FC| ≥ 1 and FDR < 0.05) and metabolites (VIP > 1, FC ≥ 1.2, and BH-adjusted p < 0.05). Pathway enrichment was performed with KEGG and Gene Ontology (GO). A total of 325 genes were differentially expressed. Type I interferon and neutrophil granule transcripts (e.g., IFI44L, ISG15, S100A8/A9) were markedly up-regulated, whereas mitochondrial β-oxidation genes (ACADM, CPT1A, ACOT12) were repressed. Metabolomics revealed 110 discriminant features, including 25 MS/MS-annotated metabolites. Primary bile acid intermediates were depleted, whereas oxidized fatty acid derivatives such as 12-Z-octadecadienal and palmitic amide accumulated. Spearman correlation identified two antagonistic modules (i) interferon/neutrophil genes linked to pro-oxidative lipids and (ii) lipid catabolism genes linked to bile acid species that persisted when severe and mild siblings were compared directly. Enrichment mapping associated these modules with viral defense, neutrophil degranulation, fatty acid β-oxidation, and bile acid biosynthesis pathways. This sibling-paired peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) dual-omics study delineates an interferon-driven lipid-bile acid axis that tracks AS severity, supporting composite PBMC-based biomarkers for future prospective validation and highlighting mitochondrial lipid clearance and bile acid homeostasis as potential therapeutic targets.