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Age-related changes of muscle and plasma amino acids in healthy children

Folke Hammarqvist1, Gertrud Angsten, Staffan Meurling

  • 1Department of Surgery, Gastrocentrum, K53, Karolinska University Hospital, 141 86, Stockholm, Sweden. folke.hammarqvist@ki.se

Amino Acids
|January 22, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Muscle and plasma amino acid levels change significantly during childhood growth, differing from adult levels. These findings highlight an age-dependent amino acid pattern in growing children.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Pediatrics
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Amino acid concentrations are crucial for growth and development.
  • Understanding age-related changes in amino acid profiles is essential for pediatric health.
  • Previous research has not fully elucidated the developmental trajectory of muscle and plasma amino acids in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-dependent changes in free amino acid concentrations in muscle and plasma of healthy children.
  • To compare amino acid profiles in children across different age groups (<1, 1-4, and 5-15 years) with healthy adults.
  • To identify specific amino acids and their sums that exhibit significant age-related variations.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of free amino acid concentrations in abdominal muscle tissue and plasma samples from metabolically healthy children and adults.
  • Grouping of pediatric participants into three age cohorts: <1 year, 1-4 years, and 5-15 years.
  • Statistical comparison of amino acid levels between age groups and with a reference adult group.

Main Results:

  • In muscle, concentrations of 8 amino acids (taurine, aspartate, threonine, alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, histidine) and total sums of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), basic amino acids (BAA), and total amino acids increased with age (P < 0.05).
  • In plasma, concentrations of threonine, glutamine, valine, cysteine, methionine, leucine, lysine, tryptophan, arginine, BCAA, BAA, and essential amino acids correlated positively with age (P < 0.05).
  • Significant differences in amino acid patterns were observed between children and adults.

Conclusions:

  • Amino acid concentrations in skeletal muscle and plasma show a distinct age dependency during human growth.
  • The findings provide valuable insights into the nutritional and metabolic changes occurring during childhood development.
  • These results underscore the importance of considering age-specific reference ranges for amino acid assessment in pediatric populations.

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