Physiological changes due to mild cooling in healthy lean males of white Caucasian and South Asian descent: A metabolomics study

• Published in: Archives of biochemistry and biophysics Vol. 589; pp. 152 - 157
• Main Authors: Nahon, Kimberly J., Boon, Mariëtte R., Bakker, Leontine E.H., Prehn, Cornelia, Adamski, Jerzy, Jazet, Ingrid M., van Dijk, Ko Willems, Rensen, Patrick C.N., Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Body Weight; Carnitine - analogs & derivatives; Carnitine - blood; Cold Temperature; European Continental Ancestry Group; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified - blood; Glycerophospholipids - blood; Humans; Lipid metabolism; Male; Metabolomics; Non-shivering thermogenesis; Sphingomyelins - blood; Thermogenesis; Young Adult; Metabolomics; Lipid metabolism; Non-shivering thermogenesis
• ISSN: 0003-9861; 1096-0384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2015.09.001

During mild cold exposure, non-shivering thermogenesis increases to maintain core body temperature by increasing utilization of substrates, especially fatty acids (FA), ultimately affecting lipid-associated metabolites. We aimed to investigate whether mild cooling induces changes in other metabolites and whether this response differs between white Caucasians and South Asians, who have a disadvantageous metabolic phenotype. 12 lean male Dutch white Caucasians and 12 matched Dutch South Asians were exposed to mild cold. Before and after 100 min exposure, serum samples were collected for analysis of 163 metabolites and 27 derived parameters using high throughput metabolomics. The overall response to mild cooling between both ethnicities was not different, therefore the data were pooled. After Bonferroni correction, mild cooling significantly changed 44 of 190 (23%) metabolic parameters. Specifically, cooling increased 19 phosphatidylcholine (PC) species, only those containing very long chain FAs, and increased the total class of PC containing mono-unsaturated FAs (+12.5%). Furthermore, cooling increased 10 sphingomyelin species as well as the amino acids glutamine (+18.7%), glycine (+11.6%) and histidine (+10.6%), and decreased short-chain (C3 and C4) acylcarnitines (−17.1% and −19.4%, respectively). In conclusion, mild cooling elicits substantial effects on serum metabolites in healthy males, irrespective of white Caucasian or South Asian ethnicity.
•Mild cold exposure increases NST and fatty acids utilization ultimately affecting lipid-associated metabolites.•Metabolomics, Biocrates platform, was used to investigate the effect of mild cooling on serum metabolites.•44 of the 189 (23%) measured metabolites and derived metabolic parameters were significantly changed.•PCs and SMs were significantly increased upon mild cooling, as were the amino acids glutamine, glycine and histidine.•The acylcarnitines C3 and C4 were significantly decreased after mild cold exposure.