REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Metabolic Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1600374
Dysregulation of metabolites and high-altitude illnesses development under plateau conditions
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Pharmacy, Qinghai Minzu University, Xining, China
- 2Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
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Background: Under plateau conditions, changes in metabolite levels can affect cellular signal transduction, protein activity, and gene expression, thereby inducing a series of physiopathological changes. Altered metabolite signaling in plateau environments may be associated with the onset and progression of high-altitude illnesses. This review summarizes the effects of a plateau environment on diseases, the mechanism of occurrence of such high-altitude illnesses, and the regulation of diseases by metabolites and proposes the role of metabolites in regulating high-altitude illnesses in plateau environments. Main Body: Through a systematic review and analysis of the existing literature, we propose and focus on an original theoretical framework for the metabolic regulation of high-altitude illnesses. We hypothesize that the development of high-altitude illnesses is not merely a reflection of passive changes in metabolites but rather stems from an imbalance in a recognizable and intervenable metabolic regulatory network. Conclusion: Metabolites have very important roles and implications in high-altitude illnesses, and a better comprehension of the regulatory role of metabolites in the pathogenesis of high-altitude illnesses can provide theoretical support fo the prevention and treatment of high-altitude illnesses.
Keywords: High-altitude illness, metabolite, Pathogenesis, hypoxia, Plateau environment
Received: 26 Mar 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bai, Qi and Zhang. 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:
Yujuan Qi, Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
Qiang Zhang, Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, Xining, Qinghai Province, 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.