Murakami Yuki, Saito Kuniaki
Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Kawahara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Int J Tryptophan Res. 2013 Jul 21;6(Suppl 1):47-54. doi: 10.4137/IJTR.S11558. Print 2013.
L-Tryptophan (L-TRP) is a nutritionally essential amino acid and the kynurenine (KYN) pathway is the major route of L-TRP catabolism. Besides being synthesized for proteins, L-TRP and its metabolites have critical roles for the functions of nervous and immune systems. Many researches show that optimal amounts of L-TRP in diets depend on species, developmental stages, environmental factors and health status. We have shown that KYN pathway-related enzyme activities vary among species, tissue and cell types in physiological conditions. Furthermore, the response of these enzyme activities to systemic and/or central nervous system immune activation and inflammation depends on species and cell types. Thus, it is very important to choose appropriate animal species and cell types in which to evaluate the physiologic and pathologic effects of increased KYN pathway metabolism. We believe that understanding L-TRP metabolism among species and cell types provides a better idea for analysis of human pathological condition.
L-色氨酸（L-TRP）是一种营养必需氨基酸，而犬尿氨酸（KYN）途径是L-TRP分解代谢的主要途径。除了用于合成蛋白质外，L-TRP及其代谢产物对神经和免疫系统的功能也起着关键作用。许多研究表明，饮食中L-TRP的最佳含量取决于物种、发育阶段、环境因素和健康状况。我们已经表明，在生理条件下，KYN途径相关酶的活性在物种、组织和细胞类型之间存在差异。此外，这些酶活性对全身和/或中枢神经系统免疫激活及炎症的反应取决于物种和细胞类型。因此，选择合适的动物物种和细胞类型来评估KYN途径代谢增加的生理和病理效应非常重要。我们认为，了解物种和细胞类型之间的L-TRP代谢情况，能为分析人类病理状况提供更好的思路。
