TY - JOUR
T1 - The Association of Circulating L-Carnitine, γ-Butyrobetaine and Trimethylamine N-Oxide Levels with Gastric Cancer
AU - Stonāns, Ilmārs
AU - Kuzmina, Jelizaveta
AU - Poļaka, Inese
AU - Grīnberga, Solveiga
AU - Sevostjanovs, Eduards
AU - Liepiņš, Edgars
AU - Aleksandraviča, Ilona
AU - Šantare, Daiga
AU - Kiršners, Arnis
AU - Škapars, Roberts
AU - Pčolkins, Andrejs
AU - Tolmanis, Ivars
AU - Sīviņš, Armands
AU - Leja, Mārcis
AU - Dambrova, Maija
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported in part by the State Research program project in biomedical, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals–BioMedPharm (VPP-EM-BIOMEDICĪNA-2022/1-0001).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Our study aimed to evaluate the association between gastric cancer (GC) and higher concentrations of the metabolites L-carnitine, γ-butyrobetaine (GBB) and gut microbiota-mediated trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the circulation. There is evidence suggesting that higher levels of TMAO and its precursors in blood can be indicative of either a higher risk of malignancy or indeed its presence; however, GC has not been studied in this regard until now. Our study included 83 controls without high-risk stomach lesions and 105 GC cases. Blood serum L-carnitine, GBB and TMAO levels were measured by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS). Although there were no significant differences between female control and GC groups, we found a significant difference in circulating levels of metabolites between the male control group and the male GC group, with median levels of L-carnitine reaching 30.22 (25.78–37.57) nmol/mL vs. 37.38 (32.73–42.61) nmol/mL (p < 0.001), GBB–0.79 (0.73–0.97) nmol/mL vs. 0.97 (0.78–1.16) nmol/mL (p < 0.05) and TMAO–2.49 (2.00–2.97) nmol/mL vs. 3.12 (2.08–5.83) nmol/mL (p < 0.05). Thus, our study demonstrated the association between higher blood levels of L-carnitine, GBB, TMAO and GC in males, but not in females. Furthermore, correlations of any two investigated metabolites were stronger in the GC groups of both genders in comparison to the control groups. Our findings reveal the potential role of L-carnitine, GBB and TMAO in GC and suggest metabolic differences between genders. In addition, the logistic regression analysis revealed that the only significant factor in terms of predicting whether the patient belonged to the control or to the GC group was the blood level of L-carnitine in males only. Hence, carnitine might be important as a biomarker or a risk factor for GC, especially in males.
AB - Our study aimed to evaluate the association between gastric cancer (GC) and higher concentrations of the metabolites L-carnitine, γ-butyrobetaine (GBB) and gut microbiota-mediated trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the circulation. There is evidence suggesting that higher levels of TMAO and its precursors in blood can be indicative of either a higher risk of malignancy or indeed its presence; however, GC has not been studied in this regard until now. Our study included 83 controls without high-risk stomach lesions and 105 GC cases. Blood serum L-carnitine, GBB and TMAO levels were measured by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS). Although there were no significant differences between female control and GC groups, we found a significant difference in circulating levels of metabolites between the male control group and the male GC group, with median levels of L-carnitine reaching 30.22 (25.78–37.57) nmol/mL vs. 37.38 (32.73–42.61) nmol/mL (p < 0.001), GBB–0.79 (0.73–0.97) nmol/mL vs. 0.97 (0.78–1.16) nmol/mL (p < 0.05) and TMAO–2.49 (2.00–2.97) nmol/mL vs. 3.12 (2.08–5.83) nmol/mL (p < 0.05). Thus, our study demonstrated the association between higher blood levels of L-carnitine, GBB, TMAO and GC in males, but not in females. Furthermore, correlations of any two investigated metabolites were stronger in the GC groups of both genders in comparison to the control groups. Our findings reveal the potential role of L-carnitine, GBB and TMAO in GC and suggest metabolic differences between genders. In addition, the logistic regression analysis revealed that the only significant factor in terms of predicting whether the patient belonged to the control or to the GC group was the blood level of L-carnitine in males only. Hence, carnitine might be important as a biomarker or a risk factor for GC, especially in males.
KW - biomarker
KW - diagnostic
KW - gastric cancer
KW - L-carnitine
KW - metabolite
KW - trimethylamine N-oxide
KW - γ-butyrobetaine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152653212&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/alldb/full-record/WOS:000969360700001
U2 - 10.3390/diagnostics13071341
DO - 10.3390/diagnostics13071341
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152653212
SN - 2075-4418
VL - 13
JO - Diagnostics
JF - Diagnostics
IS - 7
M1 - 1341
ER -