Topic: kynurenine pathway

The kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism is an important regulator of CNS neuroglial activity and immune system function. Here, novel factors influencing the kynurenine pathway (KP) are presented, with preliminary data examining links with TNF, a mediator known to have substantial clinical relevance. Bone-marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs), THP-1 and, RAW264.7 lines and mice lacking TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) were used. Gene expression was assessed by qRT-PCR. Results showed that the bacterial serine protease subtilisin and mammalian prostate specific antigen (PSA) induced expression of IDO

The NEGR1 (neuronal growth regulator 1) gene has been associated with schizophrenia phenotype in GWAS studies and its expression has been found to be altered in the brains of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. As altered profile of circulating kynurenine pathway metabolites has been linked with schizophrenia spectrum disorders as well, we aimed to find the differences in the brain and blood serum metabolite levels between wild-type mice and Negr1-deficient mice using MK-801 (dizocilpine) and a high-fat diet. The results suggest that kynurenine metabolism is strongly biased towards