{
  "id": 2256137,
  "title": "Plasma metabolomics reveals lipid-predominant metabolic disruptions in virologically suppressed people with HIV",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/plasma-metabolomics-reveals-lipid-predominant-metabolic-disruptions",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.19.745653v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A study has revealed significant metabolic disruptions in people with HIV (PWH) who are virologically suppressed (VS-PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART). These disruptions, characterized by a depletion of phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, and hexosylceramides, alongside an accumulation of triglycerides, were found to be distinct from the plasma metabolome of people without HIV (PWoH). This study, conducted using high-dimensional targeted plasma metabolomics, also identified dysregulation of the tryptophan-kynurenine and arginine-citrulline metabolic pathways, as well as elevations in diacetylated polyamines and N4-acetylcytidine in VS-PWH. Subtle but consistent alterations in VS-PWH, particularly in phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin classes, were observed and correlated with higher levels of TNF and lower CD4+ T cell counts, as well as an impaired CD4/CD8 ratio. These findings suggest that residual TNF-associated inflammation and incomplete T cell recovery continue to impact the plasma metabolome in treated HIV, highlighting potential biomarkers for further investigation in both mechanistic and clinical contexts.",
  "summary": "People with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) experience excess morbidity and mortality from comorbidities including cardiovascular and metabolic disease, yet the biological mechanisms underlying these outcomes in virally suppressed PWH (VS-PWH) remain incompletely understood. We applied high-dimensional targeted plasma metabolomics to quantify 254 small molecules and 750 lipids across 49…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}