Plasma lipidome variation during the second half of the human lifespan is associated with age and sex but minimally with BMI.
Matthew Wai Kin WongNady BraidyRussell PickfordFatemeh VafaeeJohn CrawfordJulia MuenchhoffPeter SchofieldJohn AttiaHenry BrodatyPerminder SachdevAnne PoljakPublished in: PloS one (2019)
Recent advances in mass spectrometry-based techniques have inspired research into lipidomics, a subfield of '-omics', which aims to identify and quantify large numbers of lipids in biological extracts. Although lipidomics is becoming increasingly popular as a screening tool for understanding disease mechanisms, it is largely unknown how the lipidome naturally varies by age and sex in healthy individuals. We aimed to identify cross-sectional associations of the human lipidome with 'physiological' ageing, using plasma from 100 subjects with an apolipoprotein E (APOE) E3/E3 genotype, and aged between 56 to 100 years. Untargeted analysis was performed by liquid chromatography coupled-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and data processing using LipidSearch software. Regression analyses confirmed a strong negative association of age with the levels of various lipid, which was stronger in males than females. Sex-related differences include higher LDL-C, HDL-C, total cholesterol, particular sphingomyelins (SM), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-containing phospholipid levels in females. Surprisingly, we found a minimal relationship between lipid levels and body mass index (BMI). In conclusion, our results suggest substantial age and sex-related variation in the plasma lipidome of healthy individuals during the second half of the human lifespan. In particular, globally low levels of blood lipids in the 'oldest old' subjects over 95 years could signify a unique lipidome associated with extreme longevity.
Keyphrases
- mass spectrometry
- liquid chromatography
- body mass index
- fatty acid
- endothelial cells
- cross sectional
- high resolution mass spectrometry
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- pluripotent stem cells
- high resolution
- capillary electrophoresis
- physical activity
- gas chromatography
- climate change
- type diabetes
- high performance liquid chromatography
- adipose tissue
- single cell
- solid phase extraction
- gas chromatography mass spectrometry