Anti-infectious Activity of Tryptophan Metabolites in the L-Tryptophan–L-Kynurenine Pathway

• Published in: Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 41 - 44
• Main Authors: Narui, Koji, Noguchi, Norihisa, Saito, Aya, Kakimi, Kazuhiro, Motomura, Noboru, Kubo, Kinya, Takamoto, Shinichi, Sasatsu, Masanori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 01-01-2009; Pharmaceutical Society of Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: 3-hydroxy-DL-kynurenine; allograft; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Escherichia coli; Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase - pharmacology; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Iron Chelating Agents - pharmacology; Kynurenine - analogs & derivatives; Kynurenine - metabolism; Kynurenine - pharmacology; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - metabolism; Picolinic Acids - pharmacology; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus; Time Factors; transplantation; Tryptophan - metabolism; tryptophan metabolite
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.32.41

To study the anti-infectious effect of a vascular allograft, the antimicrobial activity of tryptophan metabolites mediated by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase was determined. The growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) over 10 h in extracts from post-transplantation vascular allograft was significantly slower than that of extracts from non-transplantation vascular allograft regardless of the presence of tryptophan (p<0.05). When the antimicrobial activity of the tryptophan metabolites in the L-tryptophan–L-kynurenine pathway was examined, 3-hydroxy-DL-kynurenine and α-picolinic acid had strong antibacterial activity against MRSA, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, although antimicrobial activities of anthranilic acid, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, and quinolinic acid against them were low. The results showed that, of the tested tryptophan metabolites, 3-hydroxy-DL-kynurenine and α-picolinic acid contributed to the anti-infectious effects of the allograft by inhibiting of the growth of microorganisms.