To identify potential diagnostic biomarkers and candidate therapeutic targets through multi-omics integration of peripheral blood transcriptomics and metabolomics in children with asthma, specifically investigating the association between BPGM downregulation and metabolic alterations.
Key Findings:
15 differentially expressed genes identified, with significant BPGM downregulation (log2FC = -0.2731, p = 0.0422).
516 differential metabolites identified, with key metabolites showing good diagnostic performance and potential clinical relevance.
5-Aminolevulinic acid demonstrated optimal diagnostic accuracy with 80% sensitivity and 80% specificity, warranting further investigation.
Interpretation:
Findings suggest a potential association between BPGM expression changes and metabolic alterations in the glycine-serine-threonine pathway in childhood asthma, though mechanistic links require further validation through direct experimental studies.
Limitations:
Cross-population design limits direct gene–metabolite correlation at the individual level, impacting the interpretation of results.
Pathway intersection should be interpreted as indirect concordance, not establishing mechanistic linkage, which may affect the conclusions drawn.
Conclusion:
This study highlights the integration of multi-omics data in identifying BPGM downregulation and metabolic changes in pediatric asthma, emphasizing the need for further investigation to validate these findings and explore underlying mechanisms.
