Comparative plasma and urine metabolomics analysis of juvenile and adult canines

The metabolomic profile of a biofluid can be affected by age, and thus provides detailed information about the metabolic alterations in biological processes and reflects the in trinsic rule regulating the growth and developmental processes.

To systemically investigate the characteristics of multiple metabolic profiles associated with canine growth, we analyzed the metabolomics in the plasma and urine samples from 15 young and 15 adult beagle dogs via UHPLC-Q-TOFMS-based metabolomics. Blood routine and serum biochemical analyses were also performed on fasting blood samples.

The metabolomics results showed remarkable differences in metabolite fingerprints both in plasma and urine between the young and adult groups. The most obvious age-related metabolite alterations include decreased serumlevels of oxoglutaric acid and essential amino acids and derivatives but increased levels of urine levels of O-acetylserine. These changes primarily involved in amino acid metabolism and bile secretion pathways. We also found that the levels of glutamine were consistently higher in both serum and urine of adults, while N-acetylhistamine and uracil concentrations were much lower in the adult group compared to younger ones.

Our study provides a whole metabolic profile of serum and urine characteristics of young and adult canines, identifying several metabolites that were significantly associated with age change, which provides theoretical support for the nutrition-related research and age-related homeostasis maintenance in dogs.