Plasma Free Amino Acid Profile in HIV-Positive Cases

Abstract

Background: Increasing the sensitivity and availability of LC-MS / MS devices may provide advantages in terms of revealing the changes in metabolic pathways in HIV-positive patients and elucidating the physiopathology. Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the difference in amino acid level between HIV-positive patients and healthy individuals by using LC-MS / MS, and to investigate its relationship with HIV infection. Material and Methods: Concentrations of 36 different amino acids and their derivatives were measured and compared in venous plasma samples from 24 HIV-positive patients and 24 healthy individuals by using the LC-MS/MS method (Shimadzu North America, Columbia, MD, USA). Results: HIV-positive subjects had significantly lower alanine, 1-methyl-L-histidine, valine, aspartate, cysteine, cystine, methionine, lysine, glutamine, imino acid, tyrosine, tryptophan, threonine, sarcosine, and argininosuccinic acid and significantly higher 3-methyl-L -histidine, asparagine glutamate, and carnosine levels as compared to healthy controls. No significant differences were detected in other amino acids. Conclusion: The significant differences in amino acid profile between HIV-positive and healthy subjects may represent an auxiliary biomarker of cellular damage in asymptomatic HIV-positive patients that may be examined in more detail in further studies. It may also provide guidance for symptomatic cases in terms of the association between symptoms, clinical manifestations and deficiency or excess of certain amino acids in the context of the complete metabolomics record of HIV-positive patients.

Exploring salivary metabolome alterations in people with HIV: towards early diagnostic markers

“…Moreover, research suggests that HIV infection directly or indirectly induces dopamine dysfunction ( 35 ), a finding also supported by our results. Some studies have reported significantly lower levels of linoleic acid and argininosuccinic acid in individuals with HIV-1 ( 36 , 37 ), and an increase in brain choline compounds before the onset of AIDS dementia in PLWH ( 38 ). Furthermore, palmitic acid has been studied for its ability to inhibit HIV-1 infection by blocking effective attachment between gp120 and CD4 ( 39 ).…”

Advances in Mass Spectrometry-Based Blood Metabolomics Profiling for Non-Cancer Diseases: A Comprehensive Review

“…The study provided a robust and rapid approach to characterizing inflammation and immune-related amino acid metabolites, which can be prospectively used in biomarker discovery to assess inflammation and immunity states in various pathological conditions. Still, another research work provided a comparison of serum amino acid metabolites in healthy control and HIV-infected subjects [ 144 ]. These authors utilized a targeting method based on LC-MS/MS, which helped rapidly characterize immune changes and inflammation-related metabolites.…”