Early prediction of retinopathy of prematurity using targeted metabolomic profiling of 6-hydroxymethylpterin in preterm infants

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Alp Ünkar Z., Demir H., Batu Oto B., Cansever M. Ş., Aliyeva L., Demirel A., ...Daha Fazla

BMC OPHTHALMOLOGY, cilt.25, sa.1, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 25 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1186/s12886-025-04381-5
  • Dergi Adı: BMC OPHTHALMOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet

Özet

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a preventable cause of childhood blindness in extremely preterm infants, yet early biomarkers are lacking. In this pilot study, we utilized targeted metabolomic profiling of blood samples to measure plasma 6-hydroxymethylpterin (6PTC) levels in 18 preterm neonates. Results showed significantly higher 6PTC levels in infants who developed ROP compared to those who did not (p = 0.035), with receiver-operating characteristic analysis yielding an AUC of 0.831. These findings suggest that 6PTC may serve as a non-invasive early biomarker reflecting oxidative stress in ROP. However, the modest sample size warrants further validation in larger, longitudinal cohorts. Given the limited sample size, these results should be interpreted within the context of a pilot, hypothesis-generating study.