Serum levels of hydroxylated metabolites of arachidonic acid cross-sectionally and longitudinally predict knee pain progression: an observational cohort study

Turnbull, James; Jha, Rakesh R.; Gowler, Peter R.W.; Ferrands-Bentley, Rose; Kim, Dong-Hyun; Barrett, David A.; Sarmanova, Aliya; Fernandes, Gwen S.; Doherty, Michael; Zhang, Weiya; Walsh, David A.; Valdes, Ana M.; Chapman, Victoria

Abstract

Objective: To examine associations between serum oxylipins, which regulate tissue repair and pain signalling, and knee pain/radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) at baseline and knee pain at 3 year follow-up.

Method: Baseline, and 3 year follow-up, knee pain phenotypes were assessed from 154 participants in the Knee Pain in the Community Cohort (KPIC) study. Serum and radiographic Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) and Nottingham line drawing atlas (NLDA) OA scores were collected at baseline. Oxylipin levels were quantified using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Associations were measured by linear regression and Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC).

Results: Serum levels of 8,9-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET) (β(95%CI)=1.809(-0.71-2.91)), 14,15-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (DHET) (β(95%CI)=0.827(0.34-1.31)), and 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (β(95%CI)=4.090(1.92-6.26)) and anandamide (β(95%CI)=3.060(1.35-4.77)) were cross-sectionally associated with current self-reported knee pain scores (NRS item 3, average pain). Serum levels of 9- (β(95%CI)=0.467(0.18-0.75)) & 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (β(95%CI)=0.759(0.29-1.22)), 14-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (β(95%CI)=0.483(0.24-0.73)), and the ratio of 8,9-EET:DHET (β(95%CI)=0.510(0.19-0.82)) were cross-sectionally associated with K/L scores. Baseline serum concentrations of 8,9-EET (β(95%CI)=2.166(0.89-3.44)), 5,6-DHET (β(95%CI)=152.179(69.39-234.97)), and 5-HETE (β(95%CI)=1.724(0.677-2.77) showed positive longitudinal associations with follow-up knee pain scores (NRS item 3, average pain). Combined serum 8,9-EET and 5-HETE concentration showed the strongest longitudinal association (β(95%CI)=1.156(0.54-1.77) with pain scores at 3 years, and ROC curves distinguished between participants with no pain and high pain scores at follow-up (AUC(95%CI)=0.71(0.61-0.82)).

Conclusions: Serum levels of a combination of hydroxylated metabolites of arachidonic acid may have prognostic utility for knee pain, providing a potential novel approach to identify people who are more likely to have debilitating pain in the future.

Keywords: arachidonic acid; biomarkers; knee pain; osteoarthritis; oxylipins.

Citation

Turnbull, J., Jha, R. R., Gowler, P. R., Ferrands-Bentley, R., Kim, D.-H., Barrett, D. A., Sarmanova, A., Fernandes, G. S., Doherty, M., Zhang, W., Walsh, D. A., Valdes, A. M., & Chapman, V. (2024). Serum levels of hydroxylated metabolites of arachidonic acid cross-sectionally and longitudinally predict knee pain progression: an observational cohort study. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 32(8), 990-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2024.04.006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 11, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Apr 20, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-08
• Deposit Date: Jul 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 22, 2024
• Journal: Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
• Print ISSN: 1063-4584
• Electronic ISSN: 1522-9653
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 990-1000
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2024.04.006
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/34106373
• Publisher URL: https://www.oarsijournal.com/article/S1063-4584(24)01157-9/fulltext