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Metabolic Signature of Leukocyte Telomere Length in Elite Male Soccer Players

journal contribution
submitted on 2024-05-02, 14:58 and posted on 2024-05-02, 14:58 authored by Shamma Al-Muraikhy, Maha Sellami, Alexander S Domling, Najeha Rizwana, Abdelali Agouni, Fatima Al-Khelaifi, Francesco Donati, Francesco Botre, Ilhame Diboun, Mohamed A Elrayess

Introduction

Biological aging is associated with changes in the metabolic pathways. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictive marker of biological aging; however, the underlying metabolic pathways remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic alterations and identify the metabolic predictors of LTL in elite male soccer players.

Methods

Levels of 837 blood metabolites and LTL were measured in 126 young elite male soccer players who tested negative for doping abuse at anti-doping laboratory in Italy. Multivariate analysis using orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS), univariate linear models and enrichment analyses were conducted to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with LTL. Generalized linear model followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were conducted to identify top metabolites predictive of LTL.

Results

Sixty-seven metabolites and seven metabolic pathways showed significant associations with LTL. Among enriched pathways, lysophospholipids, benzoate metabolites, and glycine/serine/threonine metabolites were elevated with longer LTL. Conversely, monoacylglycerols, sphingolipid metabolites, long chain fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids were enriched with shorter telomeres. ROC analysis revealed eight metabolites that best predict LTL, including glutamine, N-acetylglutamine, xanthine, beta-sitosterol, N2-acetyllysine, stearoyl-arachidonoyl-glycerol (18:0/20:4), N-acetylserine and 3-7-dimethylurate with AUC of 0.75 (0.64–0.87, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

This study characterized the metabolic activity in relation to telomere length in elite soccer players. Investigating the functional relevance of these associations could provide a better understanding of exercise physiology and pathophysiology of elite athletes.

Other Information

Published in: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2021.727144

Funding

Qatar National Research Fund (UREP26-043-3-018), Inflammatory biomarkers, oxidative stress and telomere length in elite athletes from different sport disciplines.

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Frontiers

Publication Year

  • 2021

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Qatar University
  • Biomedical Research Center - QU
  • College of Education - QU
  • Qatar University Health - QU
  • College of Pharmacy - QU HEALTH
  • Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Unit - QU HEALTH
  • Anti-Doping Laboratory Qatar
  • Hamad Bin Khalifa University
  • College of Health and Life Sciences - HBKU

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