Free amino acids and related substances in human glial tumours and in fetal brain: comparison with normal adult brain

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(76)90559-X

Brain Research

Volume 117, Issue 1, 19 November 1976, Pages 105-113

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(76)90559-X Get rights and content

Abstract

An ion exchange automatic chromatographic analysis of the free amino acid concentrations of 18 human glial tumours and of 4 human fetal brains was carried out and the concentrations were compared to those of 13 biopsy specimens of normal adult brain. In addition, the concentrations of the amino acids of the glial tumours were compared to those of 7 intracerebral metastases of various origin.

The chromatograms of several tumour specimens showed an unidentified peak overlapping proline.

As far as the amino acid concentrations are concerned they varied depending upon the origin of the sample. The concentrations of most amino acids were higher in fetal brain than in adult brain with the exception of aspartic acid, glutamic aacid, glutamine, cystathionine and GABA. Two peptides: glutathione and homocarnosine were absent in fetal brain and were present in adult brain.

In glial tumours, homocarnosine and some amino acids, namely aspartic acid, glutamic acid and GABA, showed lower concentrations than in normal brain. Some amino acids were in the same concentration as in normal brain: taurine, phospho-ethanolamine, glutamine and cystathionine. Most of the others were in higher concentrations than in normal brain, mainly proline.

The results suggest that the concentrations of 5 compounds: taurine, proline, cystathionine, GABA and homocarnosine, taken as a whole, provide information on the origin of the sample.

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Our results indicate that previous reports of the elevation of GM3 in TS brain samples (25–29), based primarily on TLC analysis, may instead be due to the presence of tauro-GM2, because the TLC mobility of tauro-GM2 is very close to that of GM3 (see Fig. 2B). Taurine, one of the most abundant free amino acids found in the human central nervous system (31–33), has been shown to serve a wide variety of biological functions, including bile acid and xenobiotic conjugation, osmoregulation, and calcium modulation (34). Taurine conjugation is a well known mechanism in biological systems that facilitates the clearance of xenobiotics from the body by increasing their polarity and aqueous solubility (34).
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Free amino acids and related substances in human glial tumours and in fetal brain: comparison with normal adult brain

Abstract

Perinatal changes in the free amino acid pool of the brain in mice

Brain Research

Brain Research

Clin. chim. Acta

Brain Research

Clin. chim. Acta

Anal. Biochem.

Clin. chim. Acta

The free amino acids of foetal brain in Tay Sachs disease

J. Neurochem.

Homocystinuria. Biochemical studies of tissues including a comparison with cystathioninuria

Pediatrics

Epithelial hepatoblastoma associated with congenital hemihypertrophy and cystathionine in: presentation of a case

Pediatrics

Homocystinuria: absence of cystathionine in the brain

Science

Studies of functional neural tumors, III. Cystathionine in the tumor tissue

Scand. J. clin. Lab. Invest.