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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Molecular and Cellular Pathology
Volume 13 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1543510
This article is part of the Research Topic The Homeostasis and Perturbations of the Skeletal System and Surrounding Environment View all articles
Specific gut microbiota and serum metabolites changes in patients with osteoarthritis
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
- 2 Department of Articular Orthopaedics, The Second People's Hospital of Dalian, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
- 3 Department of Articular Orthopaedics, The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, China
Recent research indicated a strong link between the gut microbiota and osteoarthritis. However, the complex interplay between the gut microbiota, serum metabolites, and the progression of osteoarthritis in affected individuals remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of the gut microbiota and serum metabolites in patients with osteoarthritis.Participants with either healthy knees or osteoarthritis were enrolled and categorized into healthy control (HC) and osteoarthritis (OA) group. Fecal and blood samples were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metabolomic analysis via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and integrated evaluation. The results showed no significant variation in gut microbiota richness and diversity between the two groups. However, the abundance of Bacteroides plebeius and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was reduced in the OA group, both of which are known for their potential as next-generation probiotics for human health. Metabolomic analysis indicated that serum metabolites, including pyrogallol and 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), were significantly lower in the OA group. These metabolites are known to positively impact osteoarthritis progression and other diseases, and demonstrated good diagnostic performance for distinguishing osteoarthritis patients from healthy controls. Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between Bacteroides plebeius as well as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and pyrogallol along with 3HB. This study highlighted specific gut microbiota and serum metabolites profiles in osteoarthritis patients, 2 suggesting that the specific changes in bacteria and derived metabolites are closely tied to osteoarthritis progression. This underscores the potential of gut microbiota and serum metabolites as modifiable elements and therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis prevention.
Keywords: Osteoarthritis, Gut Microbiota, Serum metabolites, multi-omics, Correlation analysis
Received: 11 Dec 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Liu, Nan, Li and Yan. 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:
Wendong Wang, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
Xincheng Liu, Department of Articular Orthopaedics, The Second People's Hospital of Dalian, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Hao Nan, Department of Articular Orthopaedics, The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, China
Huan Li, Department of Articular Orthopaedics, The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, China
Litao Yan, Department of Articular Orthopaedics, The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, China
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