Metabolomics in lupus; opportunities and challenges

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by an inappropriate autoimmune response to self-antigens. This disease is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease that shows variable clinical course. Metabolomics employs advanced analytical chemistry techniques to comprehensively measure many small molecule metabolites in biological cells and tissues. Metabolites are downstream of translation processes and are thought to be associated with disease phenotypes. This technology is recognized as a powerful tool with excellent potential for detecting prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in rheumatic diseases. In this review; we summarized the recent available results of studies on metabolomics in lupus and the importance of metabolomics in the finding of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers was investigated.