Abstract
IntroductionGut microbiota is, along with adipose tissue, recognized as a source for many metabolic and inflammatory disturbances that may contribute to the individual’s state of health.ObjectivesWe investigated in cross-sectional setting the feasibility of utilizing GlycA, a novel low grade inflammatory marker, and traditional low grade inflammatory marker, high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), in reflecting serum metabolomics status and gut microbiome diversity.MethodsFasting serum samples of overweight/obese pregnant women (n = 335, gestational weeks: mean 13.8) were analysed for hsCRP by immunoassay, GlycA and metabolomics status by NMR metabolomics and faecal samples for gut microbiome diversity by metagenomics. The benefits of GlycA as a metabolic marker were investigated against hsCRP.ResultsThe GlycA concentration correlated with more of the metabolomics markers (144 out of 157), than hsCRP (55 out of 157) (FDR < 0.05). The results remained essentially the same when potential confounding factors known to associate with GlycA and hsCRP levels were taken into account (P < 0.05). This was attributable to the detected correlations between GlycA and the constituents and concentrations of several sized VLDL-particles and branched chain amino acids, which were statistically non-significant with regard to hsCRP. GlycA, but not hsCRP, correlated inversely with gut microbiome diversity.ConclusionGlycA is a superior marker than hsCRP in assessing the metabolomic profile and gut microbiome diversity. It is proposed that GlycA may act as a novel marker that reflects both the gut microbiome and adipose tissue originated metabolic aberrations; this proposal will need to be verified with regard to clinical outcomes.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01922791, August 14, 2013
Highlights
Gut microbiota is, along with adipose tissue, recognized as a source for many metabolic and inflammatory disturbances that may contribute to the individual’s state of health
This was indicated by the fact that a larger number of the metabolomics markers, 144 out of 157, correlated with GlycA, while high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) correlated with 55 out of 157 markers
When amino acids were examined separately, the concentration of GlycA was shown to correlate with the amounts of branched chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine and valine, and phenylalanine, while hsCRP correlated only with those isoleucine, leucine and phenylalanine, and even with lower correlation coefficient values
Summary
Along with adipose tissue, recognized as a source for many metabolic and inflammatory disturbances that may contribute to the individual’s state of health. It is proposed that GlycA may act as a novel marker that reflects both the gut microbiome and adipose tissue originated metabolic aberrations; this proposal will need to be verified with regard to clinical outcomes. Low grade inflammation is a condition characterized by increased concentrations of serum inflammatory markers and it is associated with many metabolic disturbances like insulin resistance (Minihane et al 2015). It is typically detected in obese individuals and has been linked with diseases such as type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia (Jung and Choi 2014). As GlycA consists of a complex heterogeneous signal, it has been proposed to reflect better than hsCRP the systemic acute phase response (Otvos et al 2015; Ritchie et al 2015, 2019)
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