Integrative multi-omics analysis of metabolite-protein interaction networks across different stages of coronary heart disease.

Abstract

To elucidate the molecular characteristics of synergistic interactions across the clinical stages of coronary heart disease (CHD)-specifically stable angina pectoris (SAP), unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and acute myocardial infarction (AMI)-through integrated metabolomic and proteomic analyses. Based on a cohort including SAP, UAP, AMI, and healthy controls, metabolomic and proteomic analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed molecules, followed by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Pathways co-enriched across both omics platforms were selected to construct metabolite-protein interaction networks. The number of pathways co-enriched in both metabolomic and proteomic analyses increased markedly with disease stage. Only two pathways (histidine metabolism and arginine and proline metabolism) were identified in the SAP stage; this number increased to five in the UAP stage (including ferroptosis and efferocytosis) and expanded to 25 in the AMI stage, encompassing three major functional modules: immune inflammation, metabolic reprogramming, and cell signaling. The core network exhibited a stepwise increase in connectivity, shifting from a sparse structure in the SAP stage to a highly interconnected architecture in the AMI stage, with L-glutamate and KNG1 identified as the central hubs in this cross-sectional network. In addition, CNDP1 exhibited a stage-dependent functional transition, shifting from downregulation in SAP to upregulation in AMI. In this cross-sectional analysis, metabolic dysregulation and immune activation exhibited stepwise increases in interconnectivity across the SAP, UAP, and AMI groups, with the most extensive crosstalk observed in the AMI stage-a network configuration consistent with a tightly coupled "molecular storm". These findings provide novel insights into stage-associated molecular signatures of CHD and identify candidate hub molecules for stage-oriented therapeutic investigation.