Serum d-serine levels are altered in early phases of Alzheimer’s disease: towards a precocious biomarker

d -Serine acts as a co-agonist of N -methyl- d -aspartate receptors (NMDAR) which appear overactivated in AD, while d -aspartate is a modulatory molecule acting on NMDAR as a second agonist. The aim of this work is to clarify whether the levels of these d -amino acids in serum are deregulated in AD,...

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Published inTranslational psychiatry Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 77 - 8
Main Authors Piubelli, Luciano, Pollegioni, Loredano, Rabattoni, Valentina, Mauri, Marco, Princiotta Cariddi, Lucia, Versino, Maurizio, Sacchi, Silvia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 26.01.2021
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
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692/53/2421
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Alzheimer's disease
Behavioral Sciences
Biological Psychology
Biomarkers
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurosciences
Pharmacotherapy
Psychiatry
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Summary:d -Serine acts as a co-agonist of N -methyl- d -aspartate receptors (NMDAR) which appear overactivated in AD, while d -aspartate is a modulatory molecule acting on NMDAR as a second agonist. The aim of this work is to clarify whether the levels of these d -amino acids in serum are deregulated in AD, with the final goal to identify novel and precocious biomarkers in AD. Serum levels of l - and d -enantiomers of serine and aspartate were determined by HPLC using a pre-column derivatization procedure and a selective enzymatic degradation. Experimental data obtained from age-matched healthy subjects (HS) and AD patients were statistically evaluated by considering age, gender, and disease progression, and compared. Minor changes were apparent in the serum l - and d -aspartate levels in AD patients compared to HS. A positive correlation for the d -serine level and age was apparent in the AD cohort. Notably, the serum d -serine level and the d -/total serine ratio significantly increased with the progression of the disease. Gender seems to have a minor effect on the levels of all analytes tested. This work proposes that the serum d -serine level and d -/total serine ratio values as novel and valuable biomarkers for the progression of AD: the latter parameter allows to discriminate CDR 2 and CDR 1 patients from healthy (CDR 0) individuals.
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ISSN:2158-3188
2158-3188
DOI:10.1038/s41398-021-01202-3