Metabolic Signature of Leukocyte Telomere Length in Elite Male Soccer Players

Shamma Al-Muraikhy; Maha Sellami; Alexander S Domling; Najeha Rizwana; Abdelali Agouni; Fatima Al-Khelaifi; Francesco Donati; Francesco Botre; Ilhame Diboun; Mohamed A Elrayess

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.727144

Metabolic Signature of Leukocyte Telomere Length in Elite Male Soccer Players

Front Mol Biosci. 2021 Dec 16:8:727144. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.727144. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Shamma Al-Muraikhy^{1

2}, Maha Sellami³, Alexander S Domling², Najeha Rizwana¹, Abdelali Agouni^{4

5}, Fatima Al-Khelaifi⁶, Francesco Donati⁷, Francesco Botre⁷, Ilhame Diboun⁸, Mohamed A Elrayess^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
² Department of Drug Design, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
³ Department of Physical Education (PE), College of Education, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
⁵ Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Unit (BPRU), QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
⁶ Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
⁷ Laboratorio Antidoping, Federazione Medico Sportiva Italiana, Rome, Italy.
⁸ College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: aging; elite athletes; metabolomics; soccer; telomere length.