Li Weisha, Schomakers Bauke V, van Weeghel Michel, Grevendonk Lotte, Vaz Frédéric M, Salomons Gajja S, Schrauwen Patrick, Hoeks Joris, Gao Arwen W, Houtkooper Riekelt H, Janssens Georges E
Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Laboratory Genetic Metabolic Diseases, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Amsterdam Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Metabolism Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Geroscience. 2025 Apr;47(2):2567-2580. doi: 10.1007/s11357-024-01453-0. Epub 2024 Nov 27.
Complex lipids, essential components in biological processes, exhibit conserved age-related changes that alter membrane properties and cellular functions and are implicated as biomarkers and contributors to longevity and age-related diseases. While physical activity alleviates age-related comorbidities and physical impairments, comprehensive exploration of the underlying biological mechanisms, particularly at the level of complex lipids, remains limited. However, clinical studies suggest that physical activity may counteract these age-related lipidomic changes, presenting a promising avenue for intervention. We performed lipidomic profiling of plasma from an extensively characterized cohort of young and aged individuals. Annotating 1446 unique lipid species across 24 lipid classes, we found the most prominent difference in older adults was an accumulation of triacylglycerols (TGs), with lower physical activity levels associated with higher TG levels in plasma and reduced physical functionality. Remarkably, lipid species in the TG class did not accumulate uniformly. Rather, our study unveiled a negative correlation between higher physical activity levels and TGs with shorter chain lengths and more double bonds in this demographic. Overall, our research highlights that plasma TG length and saturation level can help mark healthy aging groups in humans. These findings deepen our understanding of how aging affects complex lipids and the influence of physical activity on this process.
复合脂质作为生物过程中的重要组成部分，呈现出与年龄相关的保守变化，这些变化会改变膜的性质和细胞功能，并被认为是长寿和与年龄相关疾病的生物标志物及促成因素。虽然体育活动可缓解与年龄相关的合并症和身体机能障碍，但对其潜在生物学机制的全面探索，尤其是在复合脂质层面，仍然有限。然而，临床研究表明，体育活动可能会抵消这些与年龄相关的脂质组学变化，为干预提供了一条有前景的途径。我们对一个特征广泛的年轻和老年个体队列的血浆进行了脂质组学分析。在注释了24种类脂中的1446种独特脂质种类后，我们发现老年人中最显著的差异是三酰甘油（TGs）的积累，血浆中TG水平较高与较低的体育活动水平以及身体机能下降相关。值得注意的是，TG类中的脂质种类并非均匀积累。相反，我们的研究揭示了在这一人群中，较高的体育活动水平与链长较短且双键较多的TGs之间存在负相关。总体而言，我们的研究强调血浆TG的长度和饱和度水平有助于标记人类健康衰老群体。这些发现加深了我们对衰老如何影响复合脂质以及体育活动对这一过程的影响的理解。
