Muscle loss associated changes of oxylipin signatures during biological aging: an exploratory study from the PROOF cohort
Abstract
Characterizations of the multiple mechanisms determining biological aging are required to
better understand the etiology and identify early biomarkers of sarcopenia. Oxylipins are a large
family of signaling lipids involved in the regulation of various biological processes that become
dysregulated during aging.
To investigate whether comprehensive oxylipin profiling could provide an integrated and fine
characterisation of the early phases of sarcopenia, we performed a quantitative targeted
metabolomics of oxylipins in plasma of 81-year old subjects from the PROOF cohort with
decreased (n=12), stable (n=16) or increased appendicular muscle mass (n=14).
Multivariate and univariate analyses identified significant and concordant changes of oxylipin
profiles according to the muscle status. Of note, 90% of the most discriminant oxylipins were
derived from EPA and DHA and were increased in the sarcopenic subjects. The oxylipins
signatures of sarcopenic subjects revealed subtle activation of inflammatory resolution
pathways, coagulation processes and oxidative stress and the inhibition of angiogenesis. Heat
maps highlighted relationships between oxylipins and the cardiometabolic health parameters
which were mainly lost in sarcopenic subjects.
This exploratory study supports that targeted metabolomics of oxylipins could provide relevant
and subtle characterization of early disturbances associated with muscle-loss during aging.