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Methotrexate Exposure and Inflammatory-Metabolic Biomarker Networks in Hospitalized Patients with Psoriasis: A
Laura-Florina Nistor1, Ruxandra-Cristina Marin1,2, Laura Maria Endres1,3
1Doctoral School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Methotrexate (MTX) treatment in psoriasis patients showed fewer inflammatory-metabolic biomarker correlations compared to untreated patients. However, network analysis did not reveal significant differences in the overall structure, suggesting MTX may not alter these complex relationships.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease linked to cardiometabolic issues.
- Methotrexate (MTX) is a common treatment, but its effect on inflammatory and metabolic markers is unclear.
- Understanding these relationships is crucial for managing psoriasis comorbidities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of methotrexate on the interconnectedness of inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers in psoriasis patients.
- To compare the inflammatory-metabolic biomarker network structure between MTX-treated and untreated psoriasis cohorts.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 132 hospitalized adult psoriasis patients (101 untreated, 31 MTX-treated).
- Assessed inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR, NLR, SII) and metabolic indices (TyG, METS-IR, AIP).
- Employed correlation matrices and network analysis (EBICglasso) to examine cross-domain biomarker associations.
Main Results:
- MTX-treated patients had lower neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and fasting glucose.
- Untreated patients showed numerous significant inflammatory-metabolic correlations, unlike the MTX group.
- Network analysis revealed a less dense structure in the MTX group, though not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- Methotrexate treatment was associated with fewer significant cross-domain correlations between inflammatory and metabolic markers in psoriasis.
- No statistically significant differences in the overall biomarker network structure were found between treated and untreated groups.
- Findings are preliminary, warranting further research into MTX's role in psoriasis cardiometabolic health.
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