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Profiling of faecal water and urine metabolites among Papua New Guinea highlanders believed to be adapted to low protein intake

Metabolomics volume 13, Article number: 105 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

Introduction

Adequate amount of proteins from foods are normally needed to maintain muscle mass of the human body. Although protein intakes of Papua New Guinea (PNG) highlanders are less than biologically adequate, protein deficiency related disorders have rarely been reported. It has been postulated that gut microbiota play a role in such low-protein-adaptation.

Objective

To explore underlying biological mechanisms of low-protein adaptation among PNG highlanders by investigating metabolomic profiles of faecal water and urine.

Methods

We performed metabolome analysis using faecal water extracted from faecal samples of PNG highlanders, PNG non-highlanders and Japanese subjects. We paid special attention to amino acids and other metabolites produced by gut microbiota, as well as to metabolites involved in nitrogen recycling in the human gut.

Results

Our results indicated that amino acid levels were higher in faecal water from PNG highlanders than PNG non-highlanders, but amino acid levels did not differ between PNG highlanders and Japanese subjects. Among PNG highlander samples, amino acid levels tended to be higher in those who consumed less protein.

Conclusion

We speculated that a greater proportion of urea was excreted to the intestine among the PNG highlanders than other groups, and that the urea was used for nitrogen salvage. Intestinal bacteria are essential for producing ammonia from urea and also for producing amino acids from ammonia, which is a key process in low-protein adaptation. Profiling the gut microbiota of PNG highlanders is an important avenue for further research into the mechanisms of low-protein adaptation.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Funding Program for Next Generation World-Leading Researchers (LS024), Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (15H04430), Takeda Science Foundation, and the TANITA Healthy Weight Community Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Eriko Tomitsuka, Katsura Igai, Kiyoshi Tadokoro, Ayako Morita & Masahiro Umezaki

  2. Department of Health Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Sciences, 265-1, Higashijima, Akiha-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, 956-8603, Japan

    Eriko Tomitsuka

  3. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan

    Katsura Igai

  4. Department of Resource Policy and Management, Faculty of International Resource Sciences, Akita University, Tegata Gakuen-machi, Akita City, Akita, Japan

    Kiyoshi Tadokoro

  5. Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Ayako Morita

  6. Faculty of Human Sciences, Wako University, Kanai-cho, Machida City, Tokyo, Japan

    Jun Baba

  7. IMS RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokoham City, Kanagawa, Japan

    Wataru Suda

  8. Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea

    Andrew R. Greenhill, Paul F. Horwood, Kevin W. Soli & Peter M. Siba

  9. Faculty of Letters, Chiba University, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan

    Shingo Odani

  10. The Japanese Red Cross Akita College of Nursing, Nawashirosawa, Saruta, Kamikitate, Akita City, Akita, Japan

    Kazumi Natsuhara

  11. Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama City, Okayama, Japan

    Hidetoshi Morita

Authors
  1. Eriko Tomitsuka
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  2. Katsura Igai
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  3. Kiyoshi Tadokoro
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  4. Ayako Morita
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  5. Jun Baba
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  6. Wataru Suda
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  7. Andrew R. Greenhill
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  8. Paul F. Horwood
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  9. Kevin W. Soli
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  10. Peter M. Siba
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  11. Shingo Odani
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  12. Kazumi Natsuhara
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  13. Hidetoshi Morita
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  14. Masahiro Umezaki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eriko Tomitsuka.

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Conflict of interest

The authors state no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo (10188), the Institutional review Board of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (1025), and the Medical Research Advisory Board of Papua New Guinea (07.18, 11.16).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Electronic supplementary material

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11306_2017_1243_MOESM1_ESM.pptx

Scatter plot between the first and the second principal components obtained from principle component analysis for 228 metabolites identified in urinary samples. Closed circles indicate PNG highlanders samples (n=6), open circles indicate PNG non-highlanders samples (n=4). Percentages of variation explained by the first component and the second component are shown. Supplementary Material 1 (PPTX 58 KB)

Supplementary Material 2 (XLSX 91 KB)

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Tomitsuka, E., Igai, K., Tadokoro, K. et al. Profiling of faecal water and urine metabolites among Papua New Guinea highlanders believed to be adapted to low protein intake. Metabolomics 13, 105 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-017-1243-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-017-1243-6

Keywords

  • Gut microbiota
  • Metabolomics
  • CE-TOFMS