Metabolomic Characterization of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)
RESEARCH IMPACT:
“Metabolomic Characterization of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome” is the first systematic metabolomic profiling of children with PANS, identifying a distinct biochemical signature linked to neuroinflammatory and neurotransmitter pathways. The findings advance our understanding of PANS pathophysiology and show that metabolomics could be a valuable approach for finding biomarkers and developing more targeted treatments for these patients.
SUMMARY
Metabolomic Characterization of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome used a metabolomics approach to identify a unique plasma metabolic profile in children with Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).. Serum samples from 34 affected children were compared to 25 healthy controls using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy.
The results revealed the metabolic signature of PANS patients is distinct from healthy controls. Researchers found significant alterations in several metabolites involved in neurotransmission and inflammation-related pathways, including tryptophan, glycine, glutamine, histidine, and 2-hydroxybutyrate. These findings support the presence of underlying neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupted amino acid metabolism in PANS. Additionally, several of the altered metabolites correlated with symptom severity, suggesting potential roles as biomarkers.
Pathway enrichment analysis indicated disturbances in tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism, glutamate-glutamine cycling, and histidine and glycine pathways, all of which are critical for neural function and immune signaling.
This study strongly supports using metabolomics as a tool to improve the search for biomarkers in PANS, the umbrella condition that encompasses Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS).
LINK TO PAPER: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.645267
CITATION
Murgia F, Gagliano A, Tanca MG, Or-Geva N, Hendren A, Carucci S, Pintor M, Cera F, Cossu F, Sotgiu S, Atzori L, Zuddas A. Metabolomic Characterization of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS). Front Neurosci. 2021 May 28;15:645267. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.645267. PMID: 34121984; PMCID: PMC8194687.