Serum metabolomic signatures can predict sub-clinical atherosclerosis in patients with SLE

Objective: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Standard serum lipid measurements in clinical practice do not predict CVD risk in SLE patients. More detailed analysis of lipoprotein taxonomy could identify better predictors of CVD risk in SLE. Approach: Eighty patients with SLE and no history of CVD underwent carotid and femoral ultrasound scans; 30 had atherosclerosis plaques (SLE-P) and 50 had no plaques (SLE-NP). Serum samples obtained at the time of the scan. 228 serum metabolites and lipids were quantified using an established nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy platform (Nightingale Health). The dataset includes absolute concentrations (mmol), and relative measures (ratios, percentages) from 39 healthy controls (HCs), 50 SLE-NP, and 30 SLE-P.

研究目标：系统性红斑狼疮（systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE）患者罹患心血管疾病（cardiovascular disease, CVD）的风险显著升高，而临床实践中的标准血清脂质检测无法预测该类患者的CVD风险。对脂蛋白分类开展更细致的分析，或可识别出SLE患者CVD风险的更佳预测因子。
研究方法：纳入80名无心血管疾病病史的SLE患者，均接受颈动脉及股动脉超声扫描；其中30名患者存在动脉粥样硬化斑块（记为SLE-P组），50名未检出斑块（记为SLE-NP组）。采集超声扫描时获取的血清样本，采用成熟的核磁共振波谱平台（Nightingale Health）对228种血清代谢物及脂质进行定量检测。本数据集包含39名健康对照（healthy controls, HCs）、50名SLE-NP患者及30名SLE-P患者的绝对浓度（单位：mmol）与相对测量指标（比值、百分比）。