Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40646620›Full record

ArticleNutrition & metabolism2025

3-Hydroxybutyrate, a metabolite in sustaining neuronal cell vitality: a mendelian randomization and in vitro experimentation.

Xiaoling Hu, Yu Lin, Kaiwen Huang, HuiLin Xu, Changmei Huang Fu, Jiayin Ou, Xiude Fan, Zhe Li, Jiansong Fang, Shuhuan Fang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrition & metabolism, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Xiaoling HuScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
Yu LinScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
Kaiwen HuangScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
HuiLin XuScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
Changmei Huang FuDepartment of general practice in Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong, Medical University, Zhanjiang, 524001, Guangdong, China.
Jiayin OuScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
Xiude FanShandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.
Zhe LiScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
Jiansong FangScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China. fangjs@gzucm.edu.cn.
Shuhuan FangScience and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Airport Road, Guangzhou, 510405, China. fangshuhuan@gzucm.edu.cn.

Funding

Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province No. 2022A1515011645Open Bidding for Selecting the Best Candidates in Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine No. A1-2601-23-414-453Z66
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRecent research has implicated mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) and Tau protein levels in the blood as potential biomarkers for early Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk assessment, correlating with metabolite profiles. However, intermediary metabolites mediating these associations remain elusive.

methodsEmploying a two-sample and a mediation Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis of the IEU OpenGWAS database, involving 383,476 participants from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and an exome-wide association study (ExWAS), we identified intermediary metabolites linking mtDNA-CN and Tau.Meanwhile, the effects of mediating metabolites on HT22 cell viability and its mitochondrial morphology were also assessed in conjunction with in vitro experiments.

resultsOur study revealed an association of mtDNA-CN on Tau (OR = 3.102, 95% CI: 1.016-9.472, P = 0.047), as well as on other 31 metabolites such as 3-Hydroxybutyrate (3HB), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), Acetate, Albumin, Apolipoprotein A-I (APOA1), and so on. Notably, 3HB was further implicated in a relationship with Tau (OR = 6.030, 95% CI: 1.054-34.491, P = 0.043), acting as a mediator between mtDNA-CN and Tau. In vitro experiments demonstrated that 3HB positively sustained HT22 cell viability by MTT assay and mitigated mitochondrial swelling under low glucose conditions, as observed via HIS-SIM. In Western blot (WB) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays, phosphorylation levels of Tau at serine 262 (p-Tau262) and serine 396 (p-Tau396) were tended to decline following 3HB intervention. Additionally, a positive correlation was identified between 3HB concentration and mtDNA-CN.

conclusionsThese findings underscore the potential of 3HB as a biomarker and mediator in early AD risk assessment. Moreover, 3HB's ability to enhance cell viability, maintain mitochondrial morphology, decrease phosphorylated Tau protein expression and increase mtDNA-CN under stressful conditions, suggesting its therapeutic potential in improving the imbalance of energy metabolism in the AD brain.

Indexed as

3-HydroxybutyrateHT22 cellsMendelian randomizationMetabolitesMitochondrial DNA copy numberTau

Identifiers

PMID40646620
PMCPMC12247311

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.