Tryptophan Metabolism in Light of the Interplay Between Basic and Clinical Research
- Research
- Top News
Amino acids are the basic building blocks for proteins that take on many diverse tasks in the human organism, for example as motor proteins, receptors, hormones, and enzymes. Furthermore, individual amino acids and their breakdown products serve as signaling molecules that play a central role in intra- and intercellular communication – in the immune system and the nervous system, for example – and also contribute significantly to energy homeostasis. Tryptophan metabolism, an evolutionarily highly conserved breakdown pathway based on the amino acid tryptophan, which must be ingested through food, is an integral component of these biological aspects. Most tryptophan, more than 90 percent, is metabolized via the so-called kynurenine pathway, which can occur in nearly all cells and tissue types.
Functionality of the kynurenine pathway
After it became clear in recent years that the kynurenine pathway is dysregulated in a wide variety of chronic diseases, individual enzymes came to be seen as promising targets for drugs to treat oncological and neurodegenerative diseases. Contrary to the assumption that the kynurenine pathway is a pathological driver of these diseases, there is evidence of compensatory effects, particularly with regard to the progression of immune-mediated diseases such as multiple sclerosis and arthritis. This is where the work of Prof. Philipp Zimmer and Dr. Niklas Joisten from the Department of Sports and Sports Science at TU Dortmund University comes in. In the opinion article recently published in Trends in Molecular Medicine, they address the question of whether a dysregulated kynurenine pathway represents a pathomechanism or a compensation mechanism. This article is the result of an international collaboration between the two TU Dortmund University researchers and scientists from Sweden and Australia who are leading experts in the field of tryptophan metabolism. The findings could point the way for future development of boosters versus inhibitors of the kynurenine pathway to treat a variety of chronic diseases.
For Dr. Joisten and Prof. Zimmer, the biomedical classification and interpretation of tryptophan metabolism represent the basis for pursuing their own main research focus: They are investigating the robust effects of physical stress on tryptophan metabolism in order to better understand the health-promoting effects of regular physical training and sports in chronic diseases. In this context the kynurenine pathway, as the central breakdown pathway in tryptophan metabolism, appears to be an important determining factor in the tradeoff between fundamental molecular mechanisms and the improvement of measurable clinical indicators through sports and movement. Both researchers came to the Department of Sports and Sports Science at TU Dortmund University in 2020, where Prof. Zimmer holds the professorship for Performance and Health (Sports Medicine). The recently published article is an important preparatory work for interdisciplinary research projects within this topic, which the two scientists are currently initiating with international project partners.
Contact for further information: