Cerebrospinal Fluid Concentrations of Biogenic Amines: Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Bacterial and Viral Meningitis

Abstract

Catecholamine and serotonin are biogenic amines (BAs) that serve as neurotransmitters and play an important role in the regulation of cardinal functions that are mainly altered during central nervous system (CNS) infections. A total 92 samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were classified into 4 groups based on their etiology. In these samples, BAs/neurotransmitters i.e., dopamine (DA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) were detected and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC) to determine the neurophysiology of the CNS infections by bacteria (Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) and Neisseria meningitidis (Nm)) and herpes simplex virus (HSV). CSF concentration of DA, DOPAC, HVA, and 5HIAA were found significantly elevated in all test cohorts. Present study highlights that the analysis of BAs is pivotal for the early diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis. In addition, coinfections of varied etiology can also be diagnosed by their quantification. Thus, BAs can serve as potential biomarkers of these CNS infections.

Evaluation of the Differences in the Expression of Biogenic Amine-Related mRNAs and Proteins in Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer

“…The usefulness of determining the level of biogenic amines has been described in the case of the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease [ 23 ] and central nervous system infections such as bacterial and viral meningitis [ 24 ], the pathophysiology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and the impact of antipsychotic treatment [ 25 ], the importance of vaginal bacteria in bacterial vaginosis [ 26 ], a better understanding of inflammatory bowel diseases [ 27 ], and the diagnosis of early ischemic stroke [ 25 ]. It is also helpful in the early diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors [ 28 ], in the development of new methods of examining neoplastic cells [ 29 ], or in new therapies targeting biogenic amines, including those based on the use of antihistamines [ 30 ].…”

Recent Trends in the Quantification of Biogenic Amines in Biofluids as Biomarkers of Various Disorders: A Review

“…It contains salts, enzymes, proteins, peptides and small molecules, including BAs, that play critical roles in many physiological processes and may reflect pathological processes in the CNS. As was emphasized by Taj et al [17], the conventional laboratory examination of CSF for both the diagnosis and treatment of various CNS infections consists of CSF pressure, measurement, total and differential leukocyte count, glucose and protein quantification, Gram stain, bacterial and viral culture and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of different etiological agents. The authors focused on the determination of BAs in CSF, which may additionally contribute to developing new diagnostic tools of CNS infections.…”

The brain-specific upregulation of CARD11 in response to avian brain-neurotropic virus infection serves as a potential biomarker

“…For instance, glial fibrillary acidic protein and light subunit of neurofilament protein are CSF biomarkers that have been used to estimate the severity of the brain damage and the outcomes in varicella zoster virus ( Grahn et al., 2013 ) and SARS-CoV-2 infections ( Virhammar et al., 2021 ). Concentrations of kynurenine and biogenic amines as potential CSF biomarkers are significantly increased in herpes simplex virus CNS infection ( Taj and Jamil, 2018 ; Suhs et al., 2019 ). Karyopherin alpha 4 in the human brain ( Mehta et al., 2015 ) and Fas ligand in the spinal cord ( Baloul et al., 2004 ) are biomarkers of rabies virus infection.…”