Metabolomic analysis in spondyloarthritis: A systematic review

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of rheumatic diseases that cause joint inflammation. Accumulating studies have focused on the metabolomic profiling of SpA in recent years. We conducted a systematic review to provide a collective summary of previous findings on metabolomic profiling associated with SpA. We systematically searched PubMed, Medline, Embase and Web of Science for studies on comparisons of the metabolomic analysis of SpA patients and non-SpA controls. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the included articles. From 482 records identified, 31 studies were included in the analysis. A number of metabolites were differentially distributed between SpA and non-SpA cases. SpA patients showed higher levels of glucose, succinic acid, malic acid and lactate in carbohydrate metabolism, higher glycerol levels and lower fatty acid (especially unsaturated fatty acid) levels in lipid metabolism, and lower levels of tryptophan and glutamine in amino acid metabolism than healthy controls. Both conventional and biological therapy of SpA can insufficiently reverse the aberrant metabolism state toward that of the controls. However, the differences in the results of metabolic profiling between patients with SpA and other inflammatory diseases as well as among patients with several subtypes of SpA are inconsistent across studies. Studies on metabolomics have provided insights into etiological factors and biomarkers for SpA. Supplementation with the metabolites that exhibit decreased levels, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), has good treatment prospects for modulating immunity. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of disordered metabolic molecules in the pathogenesis of SpA.