The Heart of the Matter
- The ME/CFS Collaborative Center at Uppsala published an article on altered metabolic pathways in ME/CFS.
- The tryptophan metabolic pathway is highly relevant to ME/CFS because of its roles in immune function, neurotransmission, and energy metabolism.
- Untargeted and targeted analysis of metabolites revealed significant changes in metabolic networks of ME/CFS patients compared to healthy controls.
- The modified metabolic networks indicate that an altered immune system response and oxidative stress contribute to the pathophysiology of ME/CFS.
The ME/CFS Collaborative Center at Uppsala, directed by Dr. Jonas Bergquist, recently published an article evaluating alterations in metabolic pathways, especially tryptophan, and their potential role in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS. This study used both targeted and untargeted approaches to measuring the metabolic networks in the plasma of 38 ME/CFS patients and 24 healthy controls.
The tryptophan metabolic pathway’s roles in immune function, neurotransmission, and energy metabolism have led to its specific investigation as a potential contributor to the pathophysiology of ME/CFS. One of tryptophan’s metabolites, kynurenine, performs immunosuppressive actions, while another, serotonin, helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. In addition, metabolites further down the metabolic pathway play a role in the synthesis of NAD+, which is necessary for energy metabolism. Given the immune system dysregulation, problems with sleep, and issues with energy metabolism seen in ME/CFS, alterations in the tryptophan metabolic pathway may provide a deeper understanding of the disease pathophysiology.
In this study, the team used both an untargeted and targeted approach to measuring metabolites to gain a more holistic picture of changes seen in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy controls. The untargeted analysis found significant alterations in the metabolic pathways of vitamin B3, arginine-proline, and aspartate-asparagine.
For targeted analysis, the study team focused on tryptophan and its metabolites, tyrosine, phenylalanine, B vitamins, and hypoxanthine. This analysis revealed changes in the levels of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine, hypoxanthine, and phenylalanine. Together, these analyses indicate that an altered immune system response and oxidative stress are important components of the pathophysiology of ME/CFS.
Read the full article in ACS Chemical Neuroscience here.
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