title: Fecal and urinary NMR-based metabolomics unveil an aging signature in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aging is characterized by derangements in multiple metabolic pathways that progressively constrict the homeostatic reserve (homeostenosis). The signature of metabolic alterations that accompany aging can be retrieved through the metabolomic profiling of biological fluids.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the age-related changes in urinary and fecal metabolic profiles of BALB/c mice through a (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomic approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Young (n=19) and old (n=13) male BALB/c mice were fed ad libitum standard laboratory chow. Twenty four-hour feces and urine were collected using metabolic cages and analyzed by high-resolution (1)H NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate statistical analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An age-related metabolic phenotype was detected both in urine and feces. The metabolic signature of aging consisted of changes in levels of metabolites associated with amino acid metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, tryptophan-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide pathway, and host-microbiota metabolic axis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our (1)H NMR-based metabolomic approach was able to characterize the effect of age on urinary and fecal metabotypes. The implementation of this analytical strategy may increase our understanding of the metabolic alterations involved in the aging process and assist in the design of anti-aging interventions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council (CNR), Bari 70126, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calvani
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Research for Food and Nutrition (INRAN), Rome 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brasili
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Praticò
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capuani
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomassini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sciubba
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Research for Food and Nutrition (INRAN), Rome 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finamore
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Research for Food and Nutrition (INRAN), Rome 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roselli
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Neurosciences and Orthopedics, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart School of Medicine, Rome 00168, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marzetti
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council (CNR), Bari 70126, Italy; Department of Chemistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy. Electronic address: alfredo.miccheli@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miccheli
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D055442:Metabolome / Q000502:physiology*; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: (3-trimethylsilyl)propionic-(2,2,3,3-d4)-acid; 1-methylnicotinamide; 1MNA; AUROC; Area Under the ROC curve; DQ2; Discriminant Q2; LV; Latent Variable; MS; Metabolic footprint; Metabolic profiling; Metabolome; Methylnicotinamide; NMC; NMR; NNMT; Number of Misclassification; PBS; PLS-DA; Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis; RP; Rank Product; S-adenosylmethionine; SAM; Senescence; TCA; THP; TSP; Tamm–Horsfall protein; VIP; mass spectrometry; nicotinamide N-methyltransferase; nuclear magnetic resonance; phosphate buffered saline; tricarboxyl acid cycle; variable importance in projection