Correlations between kynurenines in plasma and CSF, and their relation to markers of Alzheimer's disease pathology

Introduction: Altered levels of kynurenines in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been reported in Alz-heimer's disease (AD). However, it is still largely unknown whether peripheral kynurenine concentrations resemble those found in CSF and how they relate to AD pathology. We therefore studied correlations between kynurenines in plasma and CSF and their associations with CSF amyloid-beta (A beta 1-42) and tau levels in patients from the memory clinic spanning the whole cognitive spectrum.Methods: The Biobank Alzheimer Center Limburg study is a prospective cohort study of consecutive patients referred to the memory clinic of the Alzheimer Center Limburg. Plasma and CSF concentrations of tryptophan (TRP), eight kynurenines and neopterin from 138 patients were determined by means of LC-MS/MS. Addition-ally, CSF A beta 1-42, total-tau (t-tau) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) concentrations were determined using commercially available single-parameter ELISA methods. Partial correlations were used to analyze cross-sectional associations between kynurenines in plasma and CSF and their relation to AD related CSF-biomarkers adjusted for age, sex, educational level, and kidney function.Results: Moderate to strong correlations were observed between plasma and CSF levels for quinolinic acid (QA; r = 0.63), TRP (r = 0.47), anthranilic acid (r = 0.59), picolinic acid (r = 0.55), and the kynurenine (KYN)/TRP ratio (KTR; r = 0.55; all p < 0.0001), while other kynurenines correlated only weakly with their corresponding CSF values. No correlations were found between plasma and CSF levels of KA/QA. Several kynurenines were also weakly correlated with A beta 1-42, t-tau or p-tau. Plasma levels of KA/QA were negatively correlated with A beta 1-42 (r =-0.21, p < 0.05). Plasma levels of TRP were negatively correlated with t-tau (r =-0.19) and levels of KYN with p -tau (r =-0.18; both p < 0.05). CSF levels of KYN (r = 0.20, p < 0.05), KA (r = 0.23, p < 0.01), and KTR (r = 0.18, p < 0.05) were positively correlated with A beta 1-42. Finally, TRP and KYN were negatively (r =-0.22 and r =-0.18, respectively), and neopterin positively (r = 0.19) correlated with p-tau (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Plasma concentrations of TRP, KP metabolites, KTR, and neopterin all significantly correlated positively with their corresponding CSF concentrations, but many correlations were weak. Additionally, our results suggest a relation between higher kynurenine levels and lower AD pathology load. These results need verification in future studies and require more research into (shared) underlying mechanisms.

Automated summary

This study investigated the correlations between kynurenines in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and their associations with AD pathology. The results showed moderate to strong correlations between certain kynurenines in plasma and CSF, and higher kynurenine levels were related to lower AD pathology load. These findings need further verification and more research into the underlying mechanisms.