Abstract: Objective To investigate the comprehensive serum metabolic profiles of hyperuricemia rats and to screen potential biomarkers associated with hyperuricemia by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Methods Hyperuricemia rat model was established by consistent daily intragastric administration of of adenine and potassium oxazinate for 3 weeks, rats were fed with 10% yeast extract at the same time. The metabolomics method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used to compare the difference of serum metabolic profiles between hyperuricemia model and control groups. Results Comparing with control rats, 14 potential biomarkers were identified in hyperuricemia rats, such as uric acid, hypoxanthine, allantoin, creatinine, hippuric acid, kynurenine, tryptophan, indoxyl sulfate, p-cresol sulphate, taurine, palmitic acid, stearic acid, LPC (17:0) and LPC (18:0). The results showed that hyperuricemia affected purine metabolism, amino acid metabolism, bile acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and gut microbiota metabolism in rats. Conclusions In this study, 14 different serum metabolites of hyperuricemia model rats were screened, which were helpful to explain the metabolic profiles changes caused by hyperuricemia, and to provide help for early screening, diagnosis and treatment of hyperuricemia.

Key words: hyperuricemia, insulin resistance, metabolism, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry