SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Nephrology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1679349
Metabolomics biomarkers and related pathways in acute renal injury : a bibliometric investigation, meta-analysis, and systematic review
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
- 2Office of research, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospita, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Taiyuan, China
- 3Department of Nephrology, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital(The Fifth Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University), Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseas, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
- 4Department of Nephrology, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital(The Fifth Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University), Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Kidney Disease, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
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Early diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is essential for better treatment outcomes and prognosis. Metabolomics provides valuable biomarker information to support this goal. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of articles on metabolomics in AKI published between 2005 and 2025. We then conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Our main findings were: (1) Bibliometric analysis shows rapid growth and international collaboration in AKI metabolomics research. Studies focused on risk factors, management, and underlying mechanisms. (2) Meta-analysis reveals that decreased glycine, lysine, and cystine, along with increased tryptophan, distinguish AKI patients from healthy controls. These metabolites are sensitive diagnostic biomarkers. (3) Enriched pathways identified by HMDB and KEGG suggest that amino acid metabolism are key contributors to AKI pathogenesis. This overview underscores the diagnostic, mechanistic, and clinical significance of metabolomics in AKI.
Keywords: Acute Kidney Injury, Metabolomics, biomarker, Bibliometric investigation, Meta-analysis
Received: 04 Aug 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kai, Keming, Su, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuxiang Liu, liuyuxiang@tmu.edu.cn
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