Metabolic Alterations in Colombian Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Reveal Potential Lipid Biomarkers Associated with Inflammation and Cardiovascular Risk

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are autoimmune diseases associated with chronic inflammation and cardiovascular risk. This study aimed to identify metabolic alterations in Colombian women with RA and SLE to discover potential biomarkers. Plasma samples were analyzed using LC-QTOF-MS and GC-QTOF-MS. Correlation network analysis assessed relationships between metabolites, cytokines, and HDL levels. A generalized linear model (GLM) combined metabolite scores, and ROC analysis evaluated their predictive performance. Significant metabolic changes were observed, including decreased phospholipids and sphingolipids, and increased glycerolipids in RA and SLE compared to healthy controls. The metabolite–cytokine network revealed correlations between FA 18:0 and DG 37:7 with cytokines, linking lipid metabolism to inflammation. PS O-40:3 and FA 18:0 in RA and PC O-28:0 and DG 37:7 in SLE distinguished patients from healthy controls. The combination of PS O-40:3 and FA 18:0 in RA (AUC = 0.997) and PC O-28:0 and DG 37:7 in SLE (AUC = 0.949) demonstrated high predictive performance. PE O-42:5 was positively correlated with HDL, suggesting a potential protective role against cardiovascular disease. These findings highlight lipid metabolism’s role in RA and SLE and support specific metabolites as biomarkers for disease differentiation, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk. These insights could lead to improved diagnostics and targeted treatments for these autoimmune diseases.