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Urine metabolomics distinguished pediatric tuberculosis states

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Research area:biology-genetics

What the study found

The study found that urine high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-1H-NMR) metabolomics identified distinct metabolic signatures across pediatric tuberculosis (TB) states. The strongest discrimination was between microbiologically confirmed TB and TB infection.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that these preliminary findings show potential as a triage tool to help prioritize children for microbiological testing. They also suggest it may eventually reduce the need for invasive sampling.

What the researchers tested

The researchers retrospectively analyzed urine samples from 101 children in the Spanish Paediatric TB Network (pTBred): 62 with TB, 17 with TB infection (TBI), and 22 healthy controls (HC). They generated metabolic fingerprints with HR-1H-NMR spectroscopy and used partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) with cross-validation, selecting metabolites with VIP > 2 and p < 0.05.

What worked and what didn't

Validated PLS-DA models for TB vs. HC, microbiologically confirmed TB vs. HC, and microbiologically confirmed TB vs. TBI achieved at least 70% accuracy, with AUC-ROC values from 0.867 to 0.971. Sensitivity ranged from 69.1% to 90.0% and specificity from 77.3% to 86.7%, with the best performance for microbiologically confirmed TB vs. TBI (AUC-ROC 0.971).

What to keep in mind

The abstract says this was a retrospective analysis and describes the findings as preliminary. It also states that the approach is not yet suitable as a confirmatory test.

Key points

  • Urine HR-1H-NMR metabolomics separated pediatric TB disease, TB infection, and healthy controls.
  • The best discrimination was between microbiologically confirmed TB and TB infection.
  • Validated models reached AUC-ROC values of 0.867 to 0.971.
  • TB disease was associated with higher phenylalanine and two unidentified NMR signals, plus lower levels of several energy- and nitrogen-related metabolites.
  • TB infection was associated with higher isoleucine, N-acetylglutamine, glutamine, creatinine, and 2-hydroxyvalerate.
  • The authors say the method is not yet a confirmatory test.

Disclosure

Research title:
Urine metabolomics distinguished pediatric tuberculosis states
Authors:
Andrea López-Suárez, Patricia Comella-del-Barrio, Pilar Alonso-Moreno, Yaiza Marín, Palmira Villa, Mar Santos, Antoni Noguera-Julian, Anna Gamell, Paula Rodríguez-Molino, Jara Hurtado-Gallego, Daniel Blázquez-Gamero, Ana Belén Jiménez-Jiménez, Adriana Navas, Elena del Castillo, Marta Llorente, Talía Sainz, José Domínguez, José Luis Izquierdo-García, Begoña Santiago-Garcia
Institutions:
Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases, Centro de Implantología Cirugía Oral y Maxilofacial, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Departament de Salut, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre, Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Medical Research Network, Medical Research Network, Medical Research Network, Medical Research Network, Red de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud, Red de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud, Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre, Spanish Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona
Publication date:
2026-02-23
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-026-40619-y
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.

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