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Metabolomics Reveals Dynamic Metabolic Changes Associated with Age in Early Childhood

Chih-Yung Chiu1,2,3, Kuo-Wei Yeh2,3, Gigin Lin4

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Plos One
|February 26, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Urinary metabolic profiles in healthy children change significantly during early development. Key metabolites like trimethylamine N-oxide and betaine were higher in infants, while amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism pathways showed age-related shifts.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric metabolomics
  • Developmental biology
  • Nutritional science

Background:

  • Understanding metabolic shifts during rapid early childhood growth is crucial.
  • Early life metabolism influences long-term health outcomes.
  • Limited data exists on age-related metabolic changes in healthy children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related metabolic changes in healthy children from birth to 4 years.
  • To identify key urinary metabolites and pathways associated with early childhood development.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy on 105 urine samples from 30 healthy children (birth to 4 years).
  • Applied multivariate statistical analyses, including principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA).
  • Performed metabolic pathway analysis using the MetPA web tool.

Main Results:

  • Identified distinct urinary metabolic profiles across different age groups using PLS-DA.
  • Observed significantly higher trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and betaine levels in 6-month-old infants.
  • Noted a decline in urinary glycine and glutamine after 6 months, with a compensatory increase in creatine and creatinine.
  • Found significant differences in amino acid metabolism pathways between 6 months and 1 year, and carbohydrate metabolism pathways between 2 and 3 years.

Conclusions:

  • Urine metabolomics effectively captures dynamic metabolic changes during early development.
  • Significant urinary metabolic profile shifts occur within the first year of life.
  • These findings offer crucial insights into infant nutrition and growth patterns.
Abstract

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