Abstract
BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study was to study the composition and content of the feline plasma metabolome revealing the critical metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with age during growth and development. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from juvenile and adult groups for blood routine tests and serum biochemistry tests. Non-targeted metabolomics analyses of plasma were also performed to investigate changes in metabolites and metabolic pathways. RESULTS: In this study, we found that the red blood cell counts, liver function indexes (albumin and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase), and the concentration of triglyceride and glucose changed significant with growth and development. The metabolomics results revealed that 1427 metabolites were identified in the plasma of young and adult cats. Most of these metabolites belong to major classes of lipids and lipid-like molecules. The most obvious age-related metabolites include reduced levels of chenodeoxycholate, taurocholate, cholate, and taurochenodeoxycholate but increased levels of L-cysteine and taurocyamine in the adult cat's serum. These metabolites are mainly involved in the primary bile acid biosynthesis pathway, the bile secretion pathway, and the taurine and hypotaurine metabolism pathway. CONCLUSION: This study revealed many age-related metabolite alterations in the feline plasma. These age-varying metabolites, especially in the bile acid biosynthesis and secretion metabolism pathways, indicate that the regulation of these pathways is involved in the growth and development of cats. This study promotes our understanding of the mechanism of feline growth and provides new insights into nutrition and medicine for cats of different ages.