The non-targeted metabolomic profiling of liver reveals the molecular perturbations underlying clonorchiasis

Abstract Background: Clonorchiasis is a common food-borne parasitic disease worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms of host-parasite interaction has not been illustrated. Given the parasite could influence host metabolism, the hepatic metabolic profiling will be useful for exploring the pathogenic mechanism of clonorchiasis. Results: The global hepatic metabolic profile of male Wistar rats at 4 and 8 weeks post infection with Clonorchis sinensis were investigated using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics analysis. Multivariate analysis including principal components analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis, were applied to clearly separated the metabolites of infected and control rats. These metabolites included lipids, hormones, peptides, alkaloids and amino acids. Metabolic pathways, such as purine and pyrimidine metabolism, primary bile acid biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism were perturbed during the infection process. Conclusions: These findings showed significant systemic metabolic perturbations of the liver in clonorchiasis. It also provided a new insight into the pathogenesis from the metabolic level, which might be helpful for making treatment strategies and prevention of clonorchiasis.