Serum metabolites link immune-microbiota interaction in children and young adults from Russian Karelia and Finnish Karelia with contrasting lifestyle and environment

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BACKGROUND: Environmental exposureregulates the immune, circulatory, and nervous systems, thereby affecting health. We investigated the associations between serum metabolite profiles, skin microbiota, and immune-related gene expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in children and young adults from Russian Karelia (RUS) and Finnish Karelia (FIN), two regions with contrasting environmental exposures and lifestyles. METHODS: Serum metabolites (n = 278) from 15 to 20-year-old participants from RUS (n = 162) and FIN (n = 116) were profiled. Using integrative analysis, a subset of metabolomics was combined with skin microbiota (n = 143) and blood transcriptomics (n = 144) to characterize environment-linked metabolic and immune signatures. RESULTS: Serum metabolite profiles differed significantly between the RUS and FIN subjects, reflecting divergent metabolic states. Citrulline and glutamate/glutamine metabolism were prominent in the RUS subjects while tryptophan catabolism was enhanced in the FIN subjects. Transcriptomic network analysis identified co-expression modules associated with metabolites, skin microbial taxa and key immune traits. A strongly RUS-associated module was dominated by epigenetic long non-coding RNAs and associated positively with anti-inflammatory metabolites such as circulating short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and betaine - both present at reduced levels in the FIN subjects. In contrast, FIN-associated modules were linked to inflammatory metabolites such as xanthurenic acid and L-cystine, as well as gene pathways involved in interferon (anti-viral) signaling and neutrophil responses. Across all omics layers, RUS subjects exhibited a more tightly integrated molecular network, with stronger correlations between circulating metabolites, microbial taxa and immune-related gene regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Multi-omics integration revealed a more coordinated and responsive immune-metabolic network in RUS youth, potentially shaped by environmental exposures typical of their living context. In contrast, the FIN cohort exhibited metabolic patterns more closely linked to inflammatory gene expression.

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