ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Pharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1614713

The changes of metabolites in AP patients

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201620, China
  • 2Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201620, China
  • 3Department of Gastroenterology, Jiading branch of Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201803, China
  • 4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jiading Branch of Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201803, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common abdominal inflammatory disease, which is mainly caused by gallstones, hyperlipidemia, and so on. Previous studies have explored the changes of serum metabolites in patients with AP. However, whether different etiologies have distinct impacts on the fecal and serum metabolites of the AP patients is still in suspense. Aim: This investigation was designed with dual objectives: (1) to systematically delineate etiology-specific alterations in metabolic profiles and associated pathway perturbations in AP cohorts, and (2) to evaluate their potential as diagnostic biomarkers and pathogenesis-targeted therapeutic strategies. Methods: Fifteen stool samples and fifteen serum samples from the patients with biliary acute pancreatitis (BAP) and hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HAP), respectively, were analyzed. Metabolites were quantified by using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). The antiinflammatory properties of Gibberellin A4 (GA4) and catechin were verified by RT-qPCR in vitro.The metabolites in feces and serum of the AP group were significantly different from that of the control group. Compared with the control group, a total of 10 fecal metabolites were significantly altered in the AP group. In the serum metabolites, 5 differential metabolites were identified between the AP and control groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis of the subjects found that important differential metabolites can distinguish AP patients with differentThe changes of metabolites in AP patients 2 / 32 etiology from healthy people, and in vitro experiments found that GA4 and catechin could reduce the expression of inflammatory factors in pancreatic 266-6 cell line. Conclusions: The significant differential metabolites between AP patients and healthy people can clearly distinguish the two groups, and GA4 and catechin have anti-inflammatory effects on pancreatic cell lines. The identification of distinct metabolites enabled to distinguish the AP patients with different etiologies.

Keywords: acute pancreatitis, Biliary acute pancreatitis, Hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis, LC-MS, fecal metabolome, Serum metabolome

Received: 19 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Cui, Fan, Chen, Zhao, Jiang, Wang, Zeng, Zhao and Lu. 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:
Yu Zhao, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jiading Branch of Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201803, China
Ying-Ying Lu, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201620, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.