Dysregulation of acyl carnitines, pentose phosphate pathway and arginine and ornithine metabolism are associated with decline in intrinsic capacity in Chinese older adults

Background Intrinsic capacity is the combination of individual physical and mental abilities, reflecting the aging degree of the older adults. However, the mechanisms and metabolic characteristics of the decline in intrinsic capacity are still unclear. Aims To identify metabolic signatures and associated pathways of decline in intrinsic capacity based on the metabolite features. Methods We recruited 70 participants aged 77.19 ± 8.31 years. The five domains of intrinsic capacity were assessed by Short Physical Performance Battery (for mobility), Montreal cognition assessment (for cognition), 30-Item Geriatric Depression Scale (for psychology), self-reported hearing/visual impairment (for sensory) and Nutritional risk screening (for vitality), respectively. The serum samples of participants were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, followed by metabolite set enrichment analysis and metabolic pathway analysis. Results There were 50 participants with a decline in intrinsic capacity in at least one of the domains. A total of 349 metabolites were identified from their serum samples. Overall, 24 differential metabolites, 5 metabolite sets and 13 pathways were associated with the decline in intrinsic capacity. Discussion Our results indicated that decline in intrinsic capacity had unique metabolomic profiles. Conclusion The specific change of acyl carnitines was observed to be a feature of decline in intrinsic capacity. Dysregulation of the pentose phosphate pathway and of arginine and ornithine metabolism was strongly associated with the decline in intrinsic capacity.