Raines, Nathan H.Leone, Dominick A.O'Callaghan-Gordo, CristinaRamirez Rubio, OrianaAmador, Juan JoséLopez Pilarte, DamarisDelgado, IrisLeibler, Jessica H.Embade, NievesGil-Redondo, RubénBruzzone, ChiaraBizkarguenaga, MaiderScammell, Madeleine K.Parikh, Samir M.Millet, OscarBrooks, Daniel R.Friedman, David J.2023-06-302023-06-302023Raines NH, Leone DA, O'Callaghan-Gordo C, Ramirez-Rubio O, Amador JJ, Lopez Pilarte D, Delgado IS, Leibler JH, Embade N, Gil-Redondo R, Bruzzone C, Bizkarguenaga M, Scammell MK, Parikh SM, Millet O, Brooks DR, Friedman DJ. Metabolic features of increased gut permeability, inflammation, and altered energy metabolism distinguish agricultural workers at risk for mesoamerican nephropathy. Metabolites. 2023 Feb 22;13(3):325. DOI: 10.3390/metabo130303252218-1989http://hdl.handle.net/10230/57418Mesoamerican nephropathy (MeN) is a form of chronic kidney disease found predominantly in young men in Mesoamerica. Strenuous agricultural labor is a consistent risk factor for MeN, but the pathophysiologic mechanism leading to disease is poorly understood. We compared the urine metabolome among men in Nicaragua engaged in sugarcane harvest and seed cutting (n = 117), a group at high risk for MeN, against three referents: Nicaraguans working less strenuous jobs at the same sugarcane plantations (n = 78); Nicaraguans performing non-agricultural work (n = 102); and agricultural workers in Spain (n = 78). Using proton nuclear magnetic resonance, we identified 136 metabolites among participants. Our non-hypothesis-based approach identified distinguishing urine metabolic features in the high-risk group, revealing increased levels of hippurate and other gut-derived metabolites and decreased metabolites related to central energy metabolism when compared to referent groups. Our complementary hypothesis-based approach, focused on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) related metabolites, and revealed a higher kynurenate/tryptophan ratio in the high-risk group (p = 0.001), consistent with a heightened inflammatory state. Workers in high-risk occupations are distinguishable by urinary metabolic features that suggest increased gut permeability, inflammation, and altered energy metabolism. Further study is needed to explore the pathophysiologic implications of these findings.application/pdfeng© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3390/metabo13030325Mesoamerican nephropathy (MeN)AgricultureChronic kidney disease of nontraditional cause (CKDnt)Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu)HippurateKynurenateManual laborNicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)Tryptophaninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess