Aging-related markers in rat urine revealed by dynamic metabolic profiling using machine learning

The process of aging and metabolism is intimately intertwined; thus, developing biomarkers related to metabolism is critical for delaying aging. However, few studies have identified reliable markers that reflect aging trajectories based on machine learning. We generated metabolomic profiles from rat urine using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. This was dynamically collected at four stages of the rat’s age (20, 50, 75, and 100 weeks) for both the training and test groups. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis score plots revealed a perfect separation trajectory in one direction with increasing age in the training and test groups. We further screened 25 aging-related biomarkers through the combination of four algorithms (VIP, time-series, LASSO, and SVM-RFE) in the training group. They were validated in the test group with an area under the curve of 1. Finally, six metabolites, known or novel aging-related markers, were identified, including epinephrine, glutarylcarnitine, L-kynurenine, taurine, 3-hydroxydodecanedioic acid, and N-acetylcitrulline. We also found that, except for N-acetylcitrulline (p < 0.05), the identified aging-related metabolites did not differ between tumor-free and tumor-bearing rats at 100 weeks (p > 0.05). Our findings reveal the metabolic trajectories of aging and provide novel biomarkers as potential therapeutic antiaging targets.