Difference and clinical value of metabolites in plasma and feces of patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of the study cohort

Characteristic	HC (n = 24)	ALC (n = 27)	P value
Age (yr)	53 (48, 57.75)	51 (43, 60)	0.527
BMI (kg/m2)	22.92 (22.04, 24.09)	24.22 (22.94, 24.94)	0.101
Clinical lab index
WBC (109/L)	5.82 (5.30, 6.76)	4.57 (3.60, 6.62)	0.023
NEU (%)	56.20 (52.1, 60.55)	56.60 (46.60, 67.90)	0.678
RBC (1012/L)	4.83 (4.52, 5.02)	3.66 (2.90, 4.58)	< 0.01
HGB (g/L)	148.00 (144.00, 156.00)	117.00 (100.00, 147.00)	< 0.01
HCT (%)	43.25(41.85, 46.8)	33.60 (29.50, 42.50)	< 0.01
MCV (fl)	91.50 (88.35, 94.68)	97.00 (92.2, 104.00)	0.001
PLT (109/L)	246 (223.25, 268.00)	86.00 (46.00, 123.00)	< 0.01
ALT (U/L)	17.35 (12.75, 22.5)	25.7 (15.1, 36.9)	< 0.01
AST (U/L)	19.7 (17.78, 21.73)	36.7 (24.90, 74.20)	< 0.01
TBil (μmol/L)	13.95 (11.75, 15.20)	47.3 (28.70, 115.70)	< 0.01
ALB (g/L)	46.48 (45.68, 47.68)	34.27 (28.4, 39.5)	< 0.01
A/G	1.80 (1.63, 1.80)	1.10 (0.80, 1.60)	< 0.01
GGT (U/L)	14.7 (10.28, 17.50)	94.3 (25.00, 243.80)	< 0.01
ALP (U/L)	58.7 (53.05,70.05)	97.9 (68.40, 137.50)	< 0.01
CHE (U/L)	8326.00 (7251.50, 9304.25)	3547 (1700.00, 5735.00)	< 0.01
TBA (μmol/L)	1.90 (1.45, 2.50)	66.1 (29.30, 174.20)	< 0.01
T-CHO (mmol/L)	4.40(3.72, 4.86)	3.27 (2.54, 4.78)	< 0.05
UREA (mmol/L)	5.04 (4.12, 5.87)	5.05 (4.29, 6.21)	0.734
CREA (mmol/L)	75.5 (72.18, 84.93)	68.8 (60.5, 75.50)	0.051
GLU (mmol/L)	5.27 (4.94, 5.76)	5.24 (4.57, 6.08)	0.977
PT(s)	11.45 (11.20, 11.8)	17.1 (12.10, 22.80)	< 0.01
AFP (ng/mL)	2.37 (1.97, 3.34)	4.01 (2.70, 6.97)	0.002

All clinical information in the table indicates data collected at the time closest to blood collection. Median and quartile values are provided as Median (upper quartile, lower quartile), unless otherwise noted as n (%). ALC: Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis; HC: Healthy control; CA: Cholic acid; TCA: Taurocholic acid; WBC: White blood cell; NEU: Neutrophilic granulocyte percentage; RBC: Red blood cell; HGB: Hemoglobin; HCT: Hematocrit; MCV: Mean corpuscular volume; PLT: Platelet; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate transaminase; TBil: Total bilirubin; ALB: Albumin; A/G: Albumin/glubumin; GGT: γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; CHE: Cholinesterase; TBA: Total bile acid; T-CHO: Total cholesterol; UREA: Urea nitrogen; CREA: Creatinine; PT: Prothrombin time; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein.

Table 2 Number of altered metabolites

ALC/HC	P < 0.05	Up (FC > 2)	Down (FC < 0.5)
Plasma	150	46	16
Feces	106	38	14

Compared to healthy controls, there were different number of differential metabolites in plasma or feces of patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis (ALC) by t-test. Fold change: The quantitative ratio of the two groups of experimental substances by comparing ALC group with healthy control (HC) group, and marked them as ALC/HC. ALC: Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis; HC: Healthy control; FC: Fold change.

Table 3 Differential metabolites in plasma and feces

Metabolites	Metabolic pathway	Plasma (ALC/HC)	Feces (ALC/HC)
Cholic acid	Bile acid biosynthesis	↑	NS
Glycocholic acid		↑	NS
Taurocholic acid		↑	NS
Deoxycholic acid		↑	↓
Glycine	Alanine metabolism	NS	↑
	Arginine and proline metabolism
	Glutathione metabolism
	Bile acid biosynthesis
Taurine	Taurine and hypotaurine metabolism	↑	NS
	Bile acid biosynthesis
Betaine	Glycine and serine metabolism	↓	↓
	Methionine metabolism
L-Methionine	Glycine and serine metabolism	↑	NS
	Methionine metabolism
L-Threonine	Glycine and serine metabolism	↑	↑
Choline	Methionine metabolism	↑	↑
Sarcosine	Methionine metabolism	↓	NS
L-Phenylalanine	Phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism	↑	↑
L-Tyrosine	Phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism	↑	↑
Formylanthranilic acid	Tryptophan metabolism	↓	NS
L-Valine	Valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation	↓	↑

Compared to healthy controls, variation trend of bile acid and amino acid in plasma or feces of patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis. NS: Not significant; ALC: Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis; HC: Healthy control.