Metabolite Profiling of Serum from Patients with Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major infectious disease that threatens the life and health of people globally. Here, we performed a metabolomic analysis of serum samples from patients with intractable TB to identify biomarkers that might shorten the TB treatment period. Serum samples collected at the commencement of patients’ treatment and healthy controls were analyzed using the capillary electrophoresis and time-offlight mass spectrometry metabolome analysis method. The analysis identified the metabolites cystine, kynurenine, glyceric acid, and cystathionine, which might be useful markers for monitoring the TB treatment course. Furthermore, our research may provide experimental data to develop potential biomarkers in the TB treatment course.