Increased plasma proline concentrations are associated with sarcopenia in the elderly

• Published in: PloS one 2017-09, Vol.12 (9), p.e0185206-e0185206
• Main Authors: Toyoshima, Kenji, Nakamura, Marie, Adachi, Yusuke, Imaizumi, Akira, Hakamada, Tomomi, Abe, Yasuko, Kaneko, Eiji, Takahashi, Soiciro, Shimokado, Kentaro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Age; Aged; Alzheimer's disease; Amino acid sequence; Amino acids; Biology and Life Sciences; Blood levels; Cancer; Chromatography; Cognitive ability; Development and progression; Diabetes mellitus; Family medical history; Fasting; Female; Gait; Genetic aspects; Geriatrics; Glutamine; Grip strength; Health screening; Histidine; Humans; Independent Living - statistics & numerical data; Insulin resistance; Japan; Male; Mass spectrometry; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Metabolites; Multivariate Analysis; Musculoskeletal system; Older people; People and Places; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Plasma; Plasmas (physics); Proline; Proline - blood; Proteins; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk factors; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - blood; Scientific imaging; Tryptophan; University graduates; Working groups
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185206

Metabolome analyses have shown that plasma amino acid profiles reflect various pathological conditions, such as cancer and diabetes mellitus. It remains unclear, however, whether plasma amino acid profiles change in patients with sarcopenia. This study therefore aimed to investigate whether sarcopenia-specific changes occur in plasma amino acid profiles. A total of 153 community-dwelling and seven institutionalized elderly individuals (56 men, 104 women; mean age, 77.7±7.0 years) were recruited for this cross-sectional analysis. We performed a comprehensive geriatric assessment, which included an evaluation of hand grip strength, gait speed, muscle mass and blood chemistry, including the concentration of 18 amino acids. Twenty-eight of the 160 participants met the criteria for sarcopenia established by the Asian Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Univariate analysis revealed associations between the presence of sarcopenia and a higher plasma concentration of proline and glutamine, lower concentrations of histidine and tryptophan. Multivariable analysis revealed that a higher concentration of proline was the only variable independently associated with sarcopenia. The plasma concentration of proline may be useful for understanding the underlying pathophysiology of sarcopenia.