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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1534303
This article is part of the Research Topic Artificial Intelligence-based Diagnosis and Neuromodulation in Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases View all 6 articles
Association between serum tricosanoic acid and cognitive function in older adults: findings from the NHANES and GEO databases
Provisionally accepted- 1 Gongli Hospital of Shanghai Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China
- 2 Qingdao Jimo People's Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
- 3 University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 4 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Gongli Hospital ,School of Medicine, Shanghai University,, Shanghai, China
With the global population aging, the prevalence of dementia is expected to rise.Recent studies suggested that long-chain saturated fatty acids may have a propective effect against cognitive decline. However, the relationship between serum tricosanoic acid (C23:0) and cognition remains inconsistent, and its region-specific expression in the brain is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the differences in C23:0 expression in the frontal cortex between healthy individuals and those with cognitive impairment. To confirm the association between C23:0 and cognition in the population, we analyzed gene expression data from the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain gene chip data set (GSE118553) available in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Additionally, we examined data from 1127 adults aged 60 years and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2011 and 2014. To explore potential metabolic pathways and mechanisms linking C23:0 to cognitive aging, the computational platform METAFlux was employed. Differential gene expression analyisi identified 335 downregulated and 477 upregulated genes in AD. Furthermore, metabolite analysis revealed significant differences between AD patients and controls, with 20 nutrients upregulated and 37 downregulated, including C23:0. Our findings were further verified at the population level, where higher serum C23:0 levels were associated with better cognitive function. This study provides strong evidence for reduced C23:0 expression in the frontal cortex of AD patients and highlights a specific link between serum C23:0 levels and cognitive function.
Keywords: AD, Alzheimer's disease, C23:0, tricosanoic acid, GEO, Gene Expression Omnibus, older adults, Cognitive Function
Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Zhang, Cai, Wang and Deng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shengqiong Deng, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Gongli Hospital ,School of Medicine, Shanghai University,, Shanghai, China
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