Evidence mapPaperPMID 40931194Full record

ArticleMolecular systems biology2025

Deciphering cross-cohort metabolic signatures of immune responses and their implications for disease pathogenesis.

Jianbo Fu, Nienke van Unen, Andrei Sarlea, Nhan Nguyen, Martin Jaeger, Javier Botey Bataller, Valerie A C M Koeken, L Charlotte de Bree, Vera P Mourits, Simone J C F M Moorlag and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular systems biology, 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

17 authors.

Jianbo FuCentre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint venture between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3358-8106
Nienke van UnenCentre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint venture between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.
Andrei SarleaDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Nhan NguyenCentre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint venture between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8720-1195
Martin JaegerDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Javier Botey BatallerCentre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint venture between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.
Valerie A C M KoekenDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
L Charlotte de BreeDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Vera P MouritsDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Simone J C F M MoorlagDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Godfrey TembaDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Vesla I KullayaDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo), Moshi, Tanzania.
Quirijn de MastDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Leo A B JoostenDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Cheng-Jian XuCentre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint venture between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1586-4672
Mihai G Netea *Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Yang Li *Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint venture between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany. yang.li@helmholtz-hzi.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4022-7341

Funding

COFONI (COVID19 Research Network ofthe State of Lower Saxony) with funding from the Ministry ofScience and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany 14-76403-184-3Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) EXC 2155EC | European Research Council (ERC) 833247EC | European Research Council (ERC) 948207Helmholtz Initiative and Networking Fund 1800167
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The complex interplay between circulating metabolites and immune responses, which is pivotal to disease pathophysiology, remains poorly understood and understudied in systematic research. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the immune response and circulating metabolome in two Western European cohorts (534 and 324 healthy individuals) and one from sub-Saharan Africa (323 healthy donors). At the metabolic level, our analysis revealed sex-specific differences in the correlation between phosphatidylcholine and cytokine responses following ex vivo stimulation. Notably, sphingomyelin exhibited a significant negative correlation with monocyte-derived cytokine production in response to Staphylococcus aureus stimulation, a finding that was validated through functional experiments. Subsequently, using Mendelian randomization analysis, we established a link between sphingomyelin and COVID-19 severity, providing compelling evidence for its modulatory role in immune responses during human infection. Collectively, our results represent a unique resource ( https://lab-li.ciim-hannover.de/apps/imetabomap/ ) for exploring metabolic signatures associated with immune function in different populations, highlighting sphingomyelin metabolism as a potential target in treating inflammatory and infectious diseases.

Indexed as

COVID-19MetabolomeAdultCohort StudiesCytokinesFemaleHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisMiddle AgedMonocytesPhosphatidylcholinesSARS-CoV-2SphingomyelinsStaphylococcus aureusCytokinesPhosphatidylcholinesSphingomyelinsImmune ResponseMendelian RandomizationMetabolomicsMulti-cohortMulti-omics

Identifiers

PMID40931194
PMCPMC12583525

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.