Abstract

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and telomere length are biologically associated with healthy aging. However, the association between them and their interaction on frailty remain unclear in humans. Here, a cross-sectional study based on residents from Guangxi longevity county was conducted to investigate the association of serum BCAAs, peripheral leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and frailty. A total of 1,034 subjects aged 20 to 110 years were recruited in the study. The real-time qPCR method and a targeted metabolomics approach based on isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method were used for measurement of LTL and BCAAs, respectively. A frailty score defined as the proportion of accumulated deficits based on 24 aging-related items was used assess the health status of elderly subjects. First, we found that a higher concentration of BCAAs was significantly associated with longer LTL only in middle-aged subjects, independent of age and BMI (P < 0.05). In the oldest-old subjects, we identified a significantly inverse association between BCAAs and frailty score (P < 0.001), even after adjustment for age and BMI (P < 0.05). Additionally, we recognized a statistically significant synergetic interaction between BCAAs and LTL on frailty score in the oldest-old subjects by the general linear model (P = 0.042), although we did not find any significant association between LTL and frailty score. In summary, our findings suggest a potentially protective effect of circulating BCAAs on LTL and frailty based on the subjects from longevity county in East Asia and indicate a potential synergetic interaction between BCAAs and LTL in healthy aging.

Details

Title
Serum branched-chain amino acids are associated with leukocyte telomere length and frailty based on residents from Guangxi longevity county
Author
Zhang, Ying 1 ; Zhou, Qi 2 ; Yang Ruiyue 2 ; Hu Caiyou 3 ; Huang Zezhi 4 ; Zheng Chenguang 5 ; Liang Qinghua 6 ; Gong Ranhui 7 ; Zhu, Xiaoquan 2 ; Gong Huan 2 ; Yuan Huiping 2 ; Chen, Chen 2 ; Li Xianghui 8 ; Zhang, Nan 2 ; Yang, Ze 2 ; Sun, Liang 1 

 Peking University Fifth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.11135.37) (ISNI:0000 0001 2256 9319); The MOH Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.414350.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 0447 1045) 
 The MOH Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.414350.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 0447 1045) 
 Department of Neurology, JiangBin Hospital, Nanning, China (GRID:grid.414350.7) 
 Office of Longevity Cultural, People’s Government of Yongfu County, Guilin, China (GRID:grid.414350.7) 
 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Guangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Nanning, China (GRID:grid.410649.e) 
 Department of Neurology, JiangBin Hospital, Nanning, China (GRID:grid.410649.e) 
 Office of Longevity Cultural, People’s Government of Yongfu County, Guilin, China (GRID:grid.410649.e) 
 Peking University Fifth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.11135.37) (ISNI:0000 0001 2256 9319) 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2416303840
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.