Urine Metabolomics of Gout Reveals the Dynamic Reprogramming and Non-Invasive Biomarkers of Disease Progression

Background/Objectives: Gout, a complex metabolic disorder of increasing global incidence, remains incompletely understood in its pathogenesis. Current diagnostic approaches exhibit significant limitations, including insufficient specificity and the requirement for invasive joint aspiration, highlighting the need for non-invasive, sensitive biomarkers for early detection. Methods: Urine metabolites were extracted from 28 healthy controls, 13 asymptomatic hyperuricemia (HUA) patients, and 29 acute gouty arthritis (AGA) patients. The extracted metabolites were analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS for untargeted metabolomics. Differential metabolites were screened by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and volcano plot analysis. Pathway analysis determined the core disorder pathway of gout progression. Results: A total of 278 differential metabolites associated with gout progression were identified. The most pronounced metabolic alterations were observed between the AGA and control groups, indicative of substantial metabolic reprogramming during disease transition. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed four significantly dysregulated pathways: histidine metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that three urine markers with high diagnostic efficacy-oxoamide, 3-methylindole, and palmitic acid-exhibited progressive alterations across the disease continuum. Conclusions: This metabolomics study identified core regulatory metabolites and newly discovered metabolic pathways underlying gout pathogenesis, along with novel urinary biomarkers capable of predicting HUA-to-AGA progression. The aberrant levels of key metabolites in the disordered pathway implicate neuroimmune dysregulation, energy metabolism disruption, and oxidative stress in gout pathogenesis. These findings provide new foundations and strategies for the daily monitoring and prevention of gout.