Identification of coronary heart disease biomarkers with different severities of coronary stenosis in human urine using non-targeted metabolomics based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS

Background Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, and its pathogenesis has attracted much attention. Metabolomics serves as an important tool for diagnosing diseases and exploring their pathogenesis in recent years. In this study, CHD patients were studied by comparing them with normal subjects to elucidate biomarkers that are linearly correlated with the severity of coronary stenosis. Methods An ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was used to analyze the urine metabolites of CHD patients and normal subjects. A total of 131 subjects included 27 patients who presented with 50–69% coronary stenosis, 22 with 70–89% stenosis, 29 with 90–99% stenosis, 24 with 100% stenosis, and 29 normal subjects. Results A total of 14 potential biomarkers associated with CHD were identified, and among them 4 biomarkers were linearly correlated with the severity of coronary stenosis in CHD patients. The metabolic pathways involved were amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, energy metabolism, and other pathways. Conclusion This study identified the biomarkers and metabolic pathways that may be involved in the occurrence and development of CHD, laying a theoretical foundation for better diagnosis and treatment of CHD in the future.