Gut microbiota and serum metabolomics in children with human parainfluenza virus infection.
- 1School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
- 2Foshan Sanshui District People's Hospital (Sanshui Hospital, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University), Foshan, Guangdong, China.
Abstract
Objective
Based on gut microbiota and serum untargeted metabolomics analyses, this study investigated changes in gut microbiota structure and serum metabolic profiles in children infected with human parainfluenza virus (HPIV). By integrating multi-omics data, we aimed to explore interactions between gut dysbiosis and serum metabolic disorders, and their potential roles in HPIV pathogenesis, to provide preliminary evidence for microbiota--targeted and metabolic intervention strategies.Methods
Clinical data and laboratory results were collected from 230 hospitalized children (<14 years) with HPIV infection. Subsequently, 31 HPIV-infected children and 12 healthy controls were enrolled. Fecal samples were analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and serum samples via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based untargeted metabolomics, followed by integrated multi-omics analysis.Results
Children with severe HPIV infection had longer hospital stays and higher frequencies of wheezing, tachypnea, dyspnea, and vomiting. HPIV infection was associated with gut dysbiosis: opportunistic pathogens (Anaerococcus, Peptoniphilus, Finegoldia) were enriched, while beneficial commensals (Blautia, Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium) were reduced. Metabolomics identified 579 upregulated and 211 downregulated metabolites, primarily enriched in alpha-linolenic acid, butanoate, glycerophospholipid, starch/sucrose, and glycine/serine/threonine metabolism pathways. Correlation analysis showed that enriched opportunistic pathogens positively correlated with pro-inflammatory lipids (e.g., acetoacetic acid, 3-hydroxybutyric acid) and negatively with protective metabolites (e.g., alpha-linolenic acid, sucrose, L-threonine), while Blautia showed opposite patterns. The four key genera and five metabolites demonstrated exploratory discriminatory capacity for HPIV infection (AUC: 0.81 and 0.98, respectively), serving as candidate biomarkers for further validation.Conclusion
HPIV infection may be associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis and serum metabolic disturbances in children, potentially via the gut-lung axis, and these alterations may be involved in modulating pulmonary antiviral immune and inflammatory responses. This multi-omics study provides preliminary evidence for future research on prevention and treatment strategies targeting the gut microbiota or metabolic pathways in children with HPIV infection.
Related
- Serum Metabolic Alterations in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Exploratory Targeted Metabolomics
- Comparative metabolomics of serum and serum extracellular vesicles of melanoma and triple-negative breast cancer utilizing biobank samples
- Spatial metabolomics-guided deep learning framework for dissecting immune evasion mechanisms in fungal infection microenvironments
- Integrated Analysis of Microbiome and Serum Metabolomics to Understand How Rauvolfia vomitoria Alkaloids Inhibit Colorectal Cancer Growth
- Integrated Serum and Spatial Metabolomics Reveals Compartmentalized Metabolic Reprogramming and Ferroptosis Susceptibility in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
BibTeX
@article{ren2026microbiota,
title = {{Gut microbiota and serum metabolomics in children with human parainfluenza virus infection.}},
author = {Xinghan Ren and Zhuoying Liu and Liuxuan Huang and Xiaotong Lai and Binyu Wu and Tianyu Bai and Xinyue Shen and Weijian Liang and Zhongting Dai and Huanqiong Li and Rong Zhou and Tiantian Liu},
journal = {Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fcimb.2026.1941674},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898254},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Gut microbiota and serum metabolomics in children with human parainfluenza virus infection.
AU - Xinghan Ren
AU - Zhuoying Liu
AU - Liuxuan Huang
AU - Xiaotong Lai
AU - Binyu Wu
AU - Tianyu Bai
AU - Xinyue Shen
AU - Weijian Liang
AU - Zhongting Dai
AU - Huanqiong Li
AU - Rong Zhou
AU - Tiantian Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fcimb.2026.1941674
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898254
AB - Objective Based on gut microbiota and serum untargeted metabolomics analyses, this study investigated changes in gut microbiota structure and serum metabolic profiles in children infected with human parainfluenza virus (HPIV). By integrating multi-omics data, we aimed to explore interactions between gut dysbiosis and serum metabolic disorders, and their potential roles in HPIV pathogenesis, to provide preliminary evidence for microbiota--targeted and metabolic intervention strategies.Methods Clinical data and laboratory results were collected from 230 hospitalized children (<14 years) with HPIV infection. Subsequently, 31 HPIV-infected children and 12 healthy controls were enrolled. Fecal samples were analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and serum samples via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based untargeted metabolomics, followed by integrated multi-omics analysis.Results Children with severe HPIV infection had longer hospital stays and higher frequencies of wheezing, tachypnea, dyspnea, and vomiting. HPIV infection was associated with gut dysbiosis: opportunistic pathogens (Anaerococcus, Peptoniphilus, Finegoldia) were enriched, while beneficial commensals (Blautia, Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium) were reduced. Metabolomics identified 579 upregulated and 211 downregulated metabolites, primarily enriched in alpha-linolenic acid, butanoate, glycerophospholipid, starch/sucrose, and glycine/serine/threonine metabolism pathways. Correlation analysis showed that enriched opportunistic pathogens positively correlated with pro-inflammatory lipids (e.g., acetoacetic acid, 3-hydroxybutyric acid) and negatively with protective metabolites (e.g., alpha-linolenic acid, sucrose, L-threonine), while Blautia showed opposite patterns. The four key genera and five metabolites demonstrated exploratory discriminatory capacity for HPIV infection (AUC: 0.81 and 0.98, respectively), serving as candidate biomarkers for further validation.Conclusion HPIV infection may be associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis and serum metabolic disturbances in children, potentially via the gut-lung axis, and these alterations may be involved in modulating pulmonary antiviral immune and inflammatory responses. This multi-omics study provides preliminary evidence for future research on prevention and treatment strategies targeting the gut microbiota or metabolic pathways in children with HPIV infection.
SN - 2235-2988
ER -