Serum amino acid profile in patients with Parkinson’s disease

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 1; p. e0191670
• Main Authors: Figura, Monika, Kuśmierska, Katarzyna, Bucior, Ewelina, Szlufik, Stanisław, Koziorowski, Dariusz, Jamrozik, Zygmunt, Janik, Piotr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.01.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Alanine; Amino acids; Arginine; Biochemical markers; Biology and Life Sciences; Blood-brain barrier; Central nervous system; Chromatography; Dementia; Dopamine; Dyskinesia; Energy metabolism; Fluorescence; Glutathione; High performance liquid chromatography; Homocysteine; Liquid chromatography; Malabsorption; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Mitochondria; Movement disorders; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurology; Neuromodulation; Neurotransmitters; Oxidative stress; Parkinson's disease; Phenylalanine; Physical Sciences; Regulators; Research and Analysis Methods; Studies; Threonine; Poland
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191670

Amino acids play numerous roles in the central nervous system, serving as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and regulators of energy metabolism. The free amino acid profile in serum of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients may be influenced by neurodegeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, malabsorption in the gastroenteric tract and received treatment. The aim of our study was the evaluation of the profile of amino acid concentrations against disease progression. We assessed the amino acid profile in the serum of 73 patients divided into groups with early PD, late PD with dyskinesia and late PD without dyskinesia. Serum amino acid analysis was performed by high-pressure liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. We observed some significant differences amongst the groups with respect to concentrations of alanine, arginine, phenylalanine and threonine, although no significant differences were observed between patients with advanced PD with and without dyskinesia. We conclude that this specific amino acid profile could serve as biochemical marker of PD progression.