Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Apr 27, 2022; 14(4): 719-728
Published online Apr 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i4.719
Assessment of periportal fibrosis in Schistosomiasis mansoni patients by proton nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabonomics models
Milena Lima Rodrigues, Tatiane Priscila Santos Rodrigues da Luz, Caroline Louise Diniz Pereira, Andrea Dória Batista, Ana Lúcia Coutinho Domingues, Ricardo Oliveira Silva, Edmundo Pessoa Lopes
Milena Lima Rodrigues, Caroline Louise Diniz Pereira, Ana Lúcia Coutinho Domingues, Edmundo Pessoa Lopes, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Tropical, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil
Tatiane Priscila Santos Rodrigues da Luz, Ricardo Oliveira Silva, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-740, Pernambuco, Brazil
Andrea Dória Batista, Ana Lúcia Coutinho Domingues, Edmundo Pessoa Lopes, Hospital das Clínicas, Departamento de Medicina Clínica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil
Author contributions: Rodrigues ML, Domingues ALC, Lopes EP, and Silva RO conceived and implemented the study; Rodrigues ML, Pereira CLD, and da Luz TPSR collected and performed analysis; Rodrigues ML, da Luz TPSR, Lopes EP, and Silva RO interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript; Domingues ALC, Batista AD, Lopes EP, and Silva RO critically revised the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the UFPE Research Ethical Committee involving human subjects, Certificate of Presentation of Ethical Appreciation (CAAE) 07291019.2.0000.8807.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent for publication was obtained from all participants.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Edmundo Pessoa Lopes, MD, PhD, Professor, Staff Physician, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Tropical, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Estrada das Ubaias, 311, apto. 901-A, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil. epalopes@uol.com.br
Received: May 18, 2021
Peer-review started: May 18, 2021
First decision: July 8, 2021
Revised: July 20, 2021
Accepted: March 25, 2022
Article in press: March 25, 2022
Published online: April 27, 2022
Processing time: 338 Days and 20.4 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Classification of the pattern of periportal fibrosis (PPF) is essential in the prognostic evaluation of patients with Schistosomiasis mansoni.

Research motivation

There is a need for novel minimally invasive methods and new biomarkers for the diagnosis Schistosomiasis mansoni.

Research objectives

To develop metabolic models, based on 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, that allow the classification of the pattern of PPF and its associated metabolites in patients with Schistosomiasis mansoni.

Research methods

Metabonomics models (MMs) were built to differentiate requirements with mild PPF and significant PPF. An analysis of the performance of MMs was performed for the prediction of PPF, using ultrasonography as a reference standard and the description of the main metabolites present in each PPF group and their relationship with serum markers.

Research results

The partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) formalisms discriminated spectral regions between the groups as follows: carbohydrates and valine, more concentrated in those of the group with mild FPP; N-Acetylglycosamines, Alanine, Glycolaldehyde more concentrated in the samples of the group with significant PPF. OPLS-DA showed accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, were equal to 92.7%, 90.3%, and 100% for the diagnosis of significant PPF.

Research conclusions

The constructed MMs were able to discriminate between mild and significant FPP in patients with schistosomiasis with good accuracy.

Research perspectives

This technique will be able to detect even low-intensity infections, overcoming the limitations of current diagnostic techniques, with the use of a single serum sample. These models can be inserted in the propaedeutic arsenal in clinical practice for the measurement of PPF in remote areas.