Yakubu, Michael N., Mwangi, Victor I., Netto, Rebeca L. A., Alecrim, Maria G. C., Alves, Jessica R. S., Almeida, Anne C. G., Santos, Gabriel F., Lima, Gesiane S., Machado, Lucas S., Koolen, Hector H. F., Guimarães, Tiago P., Chaves, Andrea R., Vaz, Boniek G., Monteiro, Wuelton M., Costa, Fabio T. M., Lacerda, Marcus V. G., Gardinassi, Luiz G., and de Melo, Gisely C.
Malaria is the leading parasitic disease worldwide, with P. vivax being a major challenge for its control. Several studies have indicated metabolomics as a promising tool for combating the disease. The study evaluated plasma metabolomic profiles of patients with recurrent and non-recurrent P. vivax malaria in the Brazilian Amazon. Metabolites extracted from the plasma of P. vivax-infected patients were subjected to LC–MS analysis. Untargeted metabolomics was applied to investigate the metabolic profile of the plasma in the two groups. Overall, 51 recurrent and 59 non-recurrent patients were included in the study. Longitudinal metabolomic analysis revealed 52 and 37 significant metabolite features from the recurrent and non-recurrent participants, respectively. Recurrence was associated with disturbances in eicosanoid metabolism. Comparison between groups suggest alterations in vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, 3-oxo-10-octadecatrienoate β-oxidation, and alkaloid biosynthesis II. Integrative network analysis revealed enrichment of other metabolic pathways for the recurrent phenotype, including the butanoate metabolism, aspartate and asparagine metabolism, and N-glycan biosynthesis. The metabolites and metabolic pathways predicted in our study suggest potential biomarkers of recurrence and provide insights into targets for antimalarial development against P. vivax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]