Metabolomics and Lipidomics Studies in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Biomarker Discovery for the Early Diagnosis and Prognosis

Aim. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease with heterogeneous risk factors. Metabolic perturbations in the pathogenesis of the disease are remarkable to illuminate the interaction between genetic and environmental factors and how islet immunity and overt diabetes develop. This review aimed to integrate the metabolic changes of T1D to identify potential biomarkers for predicting disease progression based on recent metabolomics and lipidomics studies with parallel methodologies. Methods. A total of 18 metabolomics and lipidomics studies of childhood T1D during the last 15 years were reviewed. The metabolic fingerprints consisting of 41 lipids and/or metabolite classes of subjects with islet autoantibodies, progressors of T1D, and T1D children were mapped in four-time dimensions based on a tentative effect-score rule. Results. From birth, high-risk T1D subjects had decreased unsaturated triacylglycerols, unsaturated phosphatidylcholines (PCs), sphingomyelins (SMs), amino acids, and metabolites in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. On the contrary, lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) and monosaccharides increased. And LPCs and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) were elevated before the appearance of islet autoantibodies but were lowered after seroconversion. Choline-related lipids (including PCs, SMs, and LPCs), BCAAs, and metabolites involved in the TCA cycle were identified as consensus biomarkers potentially predicting the development of islet autoimmunity and T1D. Decreased LPCs and amino acids indicated poor glycemic control of T1D, while elevated lysophosphatidylethanolamines and saturated PCs implied good glycemic control. Further pathway analysis revealed that biosynthesis of aminoacyl-tRNA, BCAAs, and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism were significantly enriched. Moreover, established cohort studies and predictive statistical models of pediatric T1D were also summarized. Conclusion. The metabolic profile of high-risk T1D subjects and patients demonstrated significant changes compared with healthy controls. This integrated analysis provides a comprehensive overview of metabolic features and potential biomarkers in the pathogenesis and progression of T1D.