Liver fibrosis, a rising cause of chronic
liver diseases, could eventually develop into
cirrhosis and
liver failure. Current diagnosis of
liver fibrosis relies on pathological examination of hepatic tissues acquired from percutaneous biopsy, which may produce invasive
injuries. Here, for non-invasive assessment of
liver fibrosis, we applied comparative multi-omics in non-human primates (rhesus macaques) and subsequent serum biopsy in human patients. Global transcriptomics showed significant gene enrichment of metabolism process, in parallel with oxidative stress and immune responses in fibrotic primates. Targeted metabolomics were concordant with transcriptomic patterns, identifying elevated
lipids and
porphyrin metabolites during hepatic
fibrosis. Importantly, liquid biopsy results validated that specific metabolites in the serum (e.g.,
biliverdin) were highly diagnostic to distinguish human patients from healthy controls. Findings describe the interconnected transcriptional and metabolic network in primate
liver fibrosis and provide potential indices for non-invasive detection of
liver fibrosis in humans.