Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42693772›Full record

ArticleBioMed research international2026

Metabolomics Reveals Metabolic Characteristics of Functional Cure in Chronic Hepatitis B Treated With Entecavir Combined With Pegylated Interferon Alpha.

Junling Wang, Xianghong Kong, Huiping Xu, Wei Zhang, Peng Peng

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Article in BioMed research international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Junling WangDepartment of Hepatology, Heze Mudan People's Hospital, Heze, Shandong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7068-3650
Xianghong KongDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Heze Mudan People's Hospital, Heze, Shandong, China.
Huiping XuDepartment of Medical Imaging, Heze Mudan People's Hospital, Heze, Shandong, China.
Wei ZhangDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Heze Mudan People's Hospital, Heze, Shandong, China.
Peng PengDepartment of Hepatology, Heze Mudan People's Hospital, Heze, Shandong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9341-161X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEntecavir (ETV) combined with pegylated interferon alpha (PEG-IFNα) improves chronic hepatitis B (CHB) functional cure rates, but therapeutic heterogeneity and underlying metabolic mechanisms remain unclear. This study used untargeted metabolomics to identify metabolic signatures, mechanisms, and predictive biomarkers of functional cure with ETV-PEG-IFNα.

methodsThirty-eight CHB patients were grouped into ETV monotherapy (Group E, n = 12) and ETV-PEG-IFNα combination therapy (Group Z, n = 26); Group Z was subdivided into cured (Group A, n = 13) and noncured (Group B, n = 13). Serum metabolomic profiling, multivariate statistics, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis identified differential metabolites. A random forest model was built using key metabolites.

resultsThree hundred eighty-eight metabolites were identified. Four differential metabolites distinguished Group A and B (upregulated guanidinoacetic acid, uracil 5-carboxylate; downregulated L-methionine S-oxide, oleamide), enriching amino acid metabolism pathways. Nine differential metabolites between Group E and Z implicated amino acid, immune, and fatty acid pathways. The random forest model based on the four Group A/B metabolites showed 88.5% cross-validation accuracy (AUC = 0.920), with L-methionine S-oxide and oleamide as key predictors.

conclusionsThis study reveals metabolic rewiring in CHB functional cure via ETV-PEG-IFNα therapy, involving energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and immunomodulation, based on which we propose a tentative metabolism-immunity synergy model to guide future research. Key metabolites, especially L-methionine S-oxide and oleamide, show exploratory predictive potential for functional cure that warrants further validation in independent cohorts.

Indexed as

Antiviral AgentsGuanineHepatitis B, ChronicInterferon-alphaMetabolomicsPolyethylene GlycolsAdultBiomarkersDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansMaleMetabolomeMiddle AgedAntiviral AgentsBiomarkersentecavirGuanineInterferon-alphaPolyethylene Glycolschronic hepatitis Bentecavirfunctional curemetabolomicspegylated interferon alpha

Identifiers

PMID42693772
PMCPMC13542708

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.