Differential plasma metabolites are associated with PeALT risk
We evaluated the correlations between the levels of differential
metabolites and clinical parameters. As shown in Figure 3A and 3B,
Ser-Phe-Ala and NALM had the strongest negative and positive correlation
with ALT and AST levels, respectively, implying that these two
metabolites may be associated with liver injury in patients with CHB.
Moreover, 3-Mx was negatively associated with white blood cells and
neutrophils. Multivariate logistic regression analysis further confirmed
that these metabolites were associated with PeALT risk, even after
adjusting for age, sex, BMI, low density lipoprotein, platelet, total
cholesterol, and TG (Table 2). These findings suggest that the
correlation between serum metabolites and the risk of elevated ALT
levels may be independent of BMI and metabolic syndrome. The ROC curve
revealed that Ser-Phe-Ala (AUC = 0.843, 95% CI 0.75–0.93) and
Lys-Ala-Leu-Glu (AUC = 0.839, 95% CI 0.744–0.934) can be used to
distinguish patients with PeALT from those with PnALT (Figure 3C). The
findings indicate that plasma metabolites are associated with PeALT risk
and may be potential biomarkers for diagnosing PeALT.