Plasma L-Carnitine and L-Lysine Concentrations in HIV-Infected Patients

MicroRNAs and Mammarenaviruses: Modulating Cellular Metabolism

Mammarenaviruses are a diverse genus of emerging viruses that include several causative agents of severe viral hemorrhagic fevers with high mortality in humans. Although these viruses share many similarities, important differences with regard to pathogenicity, type of immune response, and molecular mechanisms during virus infection are different between and within New World and Old World viral infections. Viruses rely exclusively on the host cellular machinery to translate their genome, and therefore to replicate and propagate. miRNAs are the crucial factor in diverse biological processes such as antiviral defense, oncogenesis, and cell development. The viral infection can exert a profound impact on the cellular miRNA expression profile, and numerous RNA viruses have been reported to interact directly with cellular miRNAs and/or to use these miRNAs to augment their replication potential. Our present study indicates that mammarenavirus infection induces metabolic reprogramming of host cells, probably manipulating cellular microRNAs. A number of metabolic pathways, including valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis, d-Glutamine and d-glutamate metabolism, thiamine metabolism, and pools of several amino acids were impacted by the predicted miRNAs that would no longer regulate these pathways. A deeper understanding of mechanisms by which mammarenaviruses handle these signaling pathways is critical for understanding the virus/host interactions and potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets, through the inhibition of specific pathologic metabolic pathways.

Plasma metabolomic fingerprint of advanced cirrhosis stages among HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cirrhosis induce metabolic disorders. Here, we aimed to evaluate the association of plasma metabolites with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score and hepatic decompensation in HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients with advanced cirrhosis.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out in 62 HIV/HCV-coinfected and 28 HCV-monoinfected patients. Metabolomics analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The statistical association analysis was performed by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and generalized linear model (GLM) with binomial distribution (to analyse HIV coinfection, high alcohol intake, treatment with statins, previous HCV therapy failure and decompensation) and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) models to analyse different stages of cirrhosis (CTP score).

RESULTS

The statistical analysis identified plasma metabolites associated with HIV coinfection, high alcohol intake, CTP score and hepatic decompensation. Overall, fatty acids, bile acids, aromatic and sulphur amino acids, butyrate derivatives, oxidized phospholipids, energy-related metabolites and bacterial fermentation-related metabolites were increased in more advanced cirrhosis stages; while lysophosphatidylcholines and lysophosphatidylethanolamines, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and metabolites of tricarboxylic acid cycle, among others, were decreased in more advanced cirrhosis. Most of the significant metabolites displayed a similar trend after stratifying for HIV/HCV- and HCV-infected patients. Glycolic acid, LPC (16:0) and taurocholic acid had high accuracy for discriminating patients according to decompensated cirrhosis (CTP ≥ 7).

CONCLUSION

Altered plasma metabolomic profile was associated with advanced stages of cirrhosis in HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients.