Non-invasive omics analysis delineates molecular changes in water-only fasting and its sex-discriminating features in metabolic syndrome patients.

Fasting has been grown in popularity with multiple potential benefits. However, very few studies dynamically monitor physiological and pathological changes during long-term fasting using noninvasive methods. In the present study, we recruited 37 individuals with metabolic syndrome to engage in a 5-day water-only fasting regimen, and simultaneously captured the molecular alterations through urinary proteomics and metabolomics. Our findings reveal that water-only fasting significantly mitigated metabolic syndrome-related risk markers, such as body weight, body mass index, abdominal circumference, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose levels in metabolic syndrome patients. Indicators of liver and renal function remained within the normal range, with the exception of uric acid. Notably, inflammatory response was inhibited during the water-only fasting period, as evidenced by a decrease in the human monocyte differentiation antigen CD14. Intriguingly, glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation underwent a sex-dependent reprogramming throughout the fasting period, whereby males exhibited a greater upregulation of carbohydrate metabolism-related enzymes than females. This disparity may be attributed to evolutionary pressures. Collectively, our study sheds light on the beneficial physiological effects and novel dynamic molecular features associated with fasting in individuals with metabolic syndrome using noninvasive methods.