Metabolomics of urine for the assessment of microvesicular lipid accumulation in the liver following isoniazid exposure

This study was conducted to develop a noninvasive marker of hepatic microvesicular lipid accumulation (MVLA), a histopathological effect currently diagnosed in humans following liver biopsy. MVLA is detected in animal studies of chemicals and drugs and occurs in some humans exposed to chemicals or pharmaceuticals. Because MVLA is a reversible histopathology, early detection of MVLA using a noninvasive method, could aid clinicians in the treatment of patients taking drugs that are known to induce this injury. Isoniazid (INH) was selected as a model compound for this investigation, because MVLA occurs in tuberculosis (TB) patients treated with a combination therapy, which includes INH. This study used male rats dosed daily with INH at 0, 10, or 300 mg/kg/day for up to 8 days. Urine, blood, and liver were obtained following 1 and 8 days. NMR metabolomics of urine revealed markers that correlated (100%) with the findings of MVLA in the right, left, and median liver lobes in 4/9 rats administered the high dose of INH for 8 days. Metabolomics of liver extracts also revealed markers that correlated with the MVLA injury. Serum enzymes that are clinically used to assess liver injury were not consistently correlated to the findings of MVLA. Metabolite changes consistent with the presence of MVLA correlated with interruptions in inositol, carbohydrate, glycerolipid, and glyoxylate metabolism. This study reveals markers that could find pre-clinical use, provides insights into mechanisms involved in MVLA, and demonstrates the need for the validation of noninvasive MVLA markers in human patients.