Evaluation of trace element and mineral status and related to levels of amino acid in children with phenylketonuria

Association between serum trace element, mineral, and amino acid levels with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adult women

The objective of the present study is assessment of serum trace element and amino acid levels in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients with subsequent evaluation of its independent associations with markers of liver injury and metabolic risk.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

140 women aged 20-90 years old with diagnosed NAFLD and 140 healthy women with a respective age range were enrolled in the current study. Analysis of serum and hair levels of trace elements and minerals was performed with inductively-coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (ICP-MS). Serum amino acid concentrations were evaluated by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-detection. In addition, routine biochemical parameters including liver damage markers, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), were assessed spectrophotometrically.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrated that patients with NAFLD were characterized by higher ALT, GGT, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cholinesterase (CE) activity, as well as increased levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and uric acid. NAFLD patients were characterized by reduced serum and hair Co, Se, and Zn levels, as well as hair Cu content and serum Mn concentrations in comparison to controls. Circulating Ala, Cit, Glu, Gly, Ile, Leu, Phe, and Tyr levels in NAFLD patients exceeded those in the control group. Multiple linear regression demonstrated that serum and hair trace element levels were significantly associated with circulating amino acid levels after adjustment for age, BMI, and metabolic parameters including liver damage markers.

CONCLUSION

It is proposed that altered trace element handling may contribute to NAFLD pathogenesis through modulation of amino acid metabolism.

The ionome and proteome landscape of aging in laying hens and relation to egg white quality

The ionome is essential for maintaining body function and health status by participating in diverse key biological processes. Nevertheless, the distribution and utilization of ionome among different organs and how aging impacts the ionome leading to a decline in egg white quality remain unknown. Thus, we used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to analyze 35 elements and their isotopic contents in eight organs of laying hens at 35, 72, and 100 weeks. Moreover, the magnum proteome, amino acids in egg white, and egg white quality were analyzed in laying hens at three different ages using 4D proteomics techniques, an amino acid analyzer, and an egg quality analyzer. Across the organs, we identified varying distribution patterns among macroelements (Mg24, Ca43/44, K39, and P31), transition metals (Zn64/66, Cu63/65, Fe56/57, and Mn55), and toxic elements (Pb208, Ba137, and Sr86). We observed an organ-specific aging pattern characterized by the accumulation of toxic elements (Pb208, Ba137, and Sr86) and calcification in the small intestine. Additionally, a decrease in the utilization of essential trace elements selenium (Se78/82) and manganese (Mn55) was noted in the oviduct. By analyzing ionome in tandem with egg quality, egg white amino acids, and proteome, we unveiled that the reduction of selenium and manganese concentrations in the magnum during the aging process affected amino acid metabolism, particularly tryptophan metabolism, thereby inhibiting the amino acid synthesis in the magnum. Furthermore, it accelerated the senescence of magnum cells through necroptosis activation, leading to a decline in the albumen secretion function of the magnum and subsequently reducing egg white quality. Overall, this study provides insights into the evolution of 35 elements and their isotopes across 8 organs of laying hens with age. It also reveals the elemental composition, interactions, and utilization patterns of these organs, as well as their correlation with egg white quality. The present study highlights the significance of ionome and offers a comprehensive perspective on the selection of ionome for regulating the aging of laying hens.

Nutritional and metabolic parameters of children and adolescents with phenylketonuria

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Considering that phenylalanine-poor diets may be monotonous and compromise the development and nutritional status of children and adolescents with phenylketonuria, the aim of this study was to evaluate the anthropometric and biochemical characteristics of children and adolescents with this condition.

METHODS

Retrospective study with anthropometric and biochemical data collection from patients with phenylketonuria in the age group 2-19.9 years. Nutritional status was classified according to the World Health Organization. Biochemical tests were compared to current recommendations.

RESULTS

A total of 84 patients (71.8%) were eligible, with a median age of 10.7 years (2.4-19.9 years). There was predominance of adequate (n = 58, 69%) with presence of overweight and obesity in 24 (28.5%) patients. The biochemical tests revealed hyperphosphatemia in 46 (55%), hypertriglyceridemia in 27 (50%), vitamin B12 elevated in 34 (41.2%), selenium deficiency in 10 (13.7%), insufficient zinc in 7 (8.9%), low globulin in 21 (26.9%), low HDL in 35 (59.3%) and elevated phenylalanine level in 28 (34.5%) patients in the sample. Overweight and obesity were correlated with low HDL (p = 0.04) and lowest adequate frequency of LDL (p = 0.09). Higher phosphorus values were associated with lower body weight (r = -0.72) and age (r = -0.75), as well as vitamin B12 in the same parameters (r = -0.67 and r = -0, 68). A positive correlation of phenylalanine with body weight and age (r = 0.62 and r = 0.66) was observed.

CONCLUSION

Most patients presented adequate according to anthropometric parameters and appropriate biochemical tests, except HDL, and moderate metabolic control of the disease. However, attention should be paid to the presence of overweight and need for biochemical monitoring of triglycerides, selenium, zinc, HDL, and phenylalanine.

Elemental Analysis of Human Blood Serum by Microwave Plasma-Investigation of the Matrix Effects Caused by Sodium Using Model Solutions

Human blood is a complex sample matrix when elemental analysis is considered. In this study, the effects of Na, a natural component of serum samples, was investigated in the quantitative determination of Ca, K, Mg, Cu, Zn, and Fe by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The robustness of the microwave plasma was tested by evaluating MgII 280.271 nm/MgI 285.213 nm by varying two adjustable operating parameters, the read time, and the nebulizer pressure. The read time has no influence on the robustness while the MgII/MgI ratio decreased when the nebulizer pressure was increased during the analysis. The threshold concentrations of the interfering Na were determined at the analytical lines used for the measurement of other elements. The matrix effect of the commercially available microwave plasma was studied by a series of model experiments with human blood. The increasing concentration of Na in the matrix within the normal ranges reported for blood serum increased the intensities of the measured atomic lines. According to a factorial design-where two applied factors were the concentration of Na matrix and the measured elements as well as their levels were considered as factorial points-it was found that the Na concentration in a serum sample after acid digestion and 10 times dilution affected the intensity values of the measured elements. For Ca, Cu, and Fe, a statistically significant effect was observed, while for Zn, Mg, and K, an interaction effect was also found. However, after calculating the percentage errors caused by the shift, the relative difference was observed to be quite small (< 10%).

Assessment of antioxidant enzymes, total sialic acid, lipid bound sialic acid, vitamins and selected amino acids in children with phenylketonuria

BACKGROUND

In this study, children with phenylketonuria and healthy control subjects were assessed for glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), retinol, cholecalciferol, α-tocopherol, phylloquinone, total sialic acid (TSA), lipid bound sialic acid (LSA), total antioxidant (TAS), total oxidation (TOS), and amino acid levels, and the relationships of these variables with phenylketonuria were evaluated.

METHODS

The study included 60 children with phenylketonuria and 30 control subjects. Children with phenylketonuria were divided into hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) and amino acid mixture (AAM) groups.

RESULTS

The HPA group had significantly lower levels of GSH-Px, CAT, GSH, TAS, α-aminobutyric acid, and taurine levels (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, respectively) than the control group. Additionally, the AAM group had significantly lower levels of CAT, TAS, and phylloquinones (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, respectively) than the control group. It was observed in our study that in the HPA group, a significantly strong positive linear correlation was observed between phenylalanine and α-aminoadipic acid (r = 0.777; p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

It was concluded that the levels of α-aminoadipic acid and phylloquinone might be an appropriate choice for the determination of phenylketonuria in parallel with the levels of phenylalanine. α-aminobutyric acid and phylloquinone as a supplement can decrease HPA damage.

Status of nutrients important in brain function in phenylketonuria: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Despite early and ongoing dietary management with a phe-restricted diet, suboptimal neuropsychological function has been observed in PKU. The restrictive nature of the PKU diet may expose patients to sub-optimal nutritional intake and deficiencies which may impact normal brain function. A systematic review of the published literature was carried out, where possible with meta-analysis, to compare the status of nutrients (Nutrients: DHA, EPA phospholipids, selenium, vitamins B₆, B₁₂, E, C, A, D, folic acid, choline, uridine, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, iodine and cholesterol) known to be important for brain development and functioning between individuals with PKU and healthy controls.

Results

Of 1534 publications identified, 65 studies met the entry criteria. Significantly lower levels of DHA, EPA and cholesterol were found for PKU patients compared to healthy controls. No significant differences in zinc, vitamins B₁₂, E and D, calcium, iron and magnesium were found between PKU patients and controls. Because of considerable heterogeneity, the meta-analyses findings for folate and selenium were not reported. Due to an insufficient number of publications (< 4) no meta-analysis was undertaken for vitamins A, C and B₆, choline, uridine, iodine and phospholipids.

Conclusions

The current data show that PKU patients have lower availability of DHA, EPA and cholesterol. Compliance with the phe-restricted diet including the micronutrient fortified protein substitute (PS) is essential to ensure adequate micronutrient status. Given the complexity of the diet, patients’ micronutrient and fatty acid status should be continuously monitored, with a particular focus on patients who are non-compliant or poorly compliant with their PS. Given their key role in brain function, assessment of the status of nutrients where limited data was found (e.g. choline, iodine) should be undertaken. Standardised reporting of studies in PKU would strengthen the output of meta-analysis and so better inform best practice for this rare condition.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13023-018-0839-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Assessment of 28 trace elements and 17 amino acid levels in muscular tissues of broiler chicken (Gallus gallus) suffering from arsenic trioxide

The contents of 28 trace elements, 17 amino acid were evaluated in muscular tissues (wings, crureus and pectoralis) of chickens in response to arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃). A total of 200 one-day-old male Hy-line chickens were fed either a commercial diet (C-group) or an As₂O₃ supplement diet containing 7.5mg/kg (L-group), 15mg/kg (M-group) or 30mg/kg (H-group) As₂O₃ for 90 days. The elements content was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Under As₂O₃ exposure, the concentration of As were elevated 8.87-15.76 fold, 7.93-15.63 fold and 5.94-12.45 fold in wings, crureus and pectoralis compared to the corresponding C-group, respectively. 19 element levels (lithium (Li), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), kalium (K), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), selenium (Se), strontium (Sr), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), tin (Sn), antimony (Sb), barium (Ba), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), 9 element levels (K, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Sr, Sn, Ba and Hg) and 4 element levels (Mn, cobalt (Co), As, Sr and Ba) were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in wing, crureus and pectoralis, respectively. 2 element levels (sodium (Na) and zinc (Zn)), 5 element levels (Li, Na, Si, titanium (Ti and Cr), 13 element levels (Li, Na, Mg, K, V, Cr, iron (Fe), Cu, Zn, Mo, Sn, Hg and Pb) were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in wing muscle, crureus and pectoralis, respectively. Additionally, in crureus and pectoralis, the content of total amino acids (TAA) was no significant alterations in L and M-group and then increased approximately 10.2% and 7.6% in H-group, respectively (P < 0.05). In wings, the level of total amino acids increased approximately 10% in L-group, whereas it showed unchanged in M and H-group compared to the corresponding C-group. We also observed that significantly increased levels of proline, cysteine, aspartic acid, methionine along with decrease in the tyrosine levels in muscular tissues compared to the corresponding C-group. In conclusion, the residual of As in the muscular tissues of chickens were dose-dependent and disrupts trace element homeostasis, amino acids level in muscular tissues of chickens under As₂O₃ exposure. Additionally, the response (trace elements and amino acids) were different in wing, thigh and pectoral of chick under As₂O₃ exposure. This study provided references for further study of heavy metal poisoning and may be helpful to understanding the toxicological mechanism of As₂O₃ exposure in muscular tissues of chickens.