Elevated quinolinic acid levels in cerebrospinal fluid in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder caused by a persistent infection with aberrant measles virus. Indoleamine-2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) initiates the increased production of kynurenine pathway (KP) metabolites quinolinic acid (QUIN), which has an excitotoxic effect for neurons. We measured serum IDO activity and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of QUIN. The CSF QUIN levels were significantly higher in SSPE patients than in controls, and increased according as neurological disability in a patient studied.

Source: Journal of Neuroimmunology - October 17, 2019 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Hirofumi Inoue, Takeshi Matsushige, Takashi Ichiyama, Alato Okuno, Osamu Takikawa, Shozo Tomonaga, Banu Anlar, Deniz Y üksel, Yasushi Otsuka, Fumitaka Kouno, Madoka Hoshide, Shouichi Ohga, Shunji Hasegawa Source Type: research