Urinary sulphatoxymelatonin as a biomarker of serotonin status in biogenic amine-deficient patients.

Abstract

Melatonin is synthesized from serotonin and it is excreted as sulphatoxymelatonin in urine. We aim to evaluate urinary sulphatoxymelatonin as a biomarker of brain serotonin status in a cohort of patients with mutations in genes related to serotonin biosynthesis. We analized urinary sulphatoxymelatonin from 65 healthy subjects and from 28 patients with genetic defects. A total of 18 patients were studied: 14 with autosomal dominant and recessive guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase-I deficiency; 3 with sepiapterin reductase deficiency; and 1 with aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency. Further 11 patients were studied after receiving serotoninergic treatment (serotonin precursors, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors): 5 with aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency; 1 with sepiapterin reductase deficiency; 3 with dihydropteridine reductase deficiency; and 2 with 6-pyruvoyltetrahydropterin synthase deficiency. Among the patients without therapy, 6 presented low urinary sulphatoxymelatonin values, while most of the patients with guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase-I deficiency showed normal values. 5 of 11 patients under treatment presented low urine sulphatoxymelatonin values. Thus, decreased excretion of sulphatoxymelatonin is frequently observed in cases with severe genetic disorders affecting serotonin biosynthesis. In conclusion, sulphatoxymelatonin can be a good biomarker to estimate serotonin status in the brain, especially for treatment monitoring purposes.

• Authors: Marta Batllori, Marta Molero-Luis, Luisa Arrabal, Javier de Las Heras, Joaquín-Alejandro Fernandez-Ramos, Luis González Gutiérrez-Solana, Salvador Ibáñez-Micó, Rosario Domingo, Jaume Campistol, Aida Ormazabal, Frederic Sedel, Thomas Opladen, Basiliki Zouvelou, Roser Pons, Angels Garcia-Cazorla, Eduardo Lopez-Laso, Rafael Artuch
• Journal: Scientific reports (Sci Rep) Vol. 7 Issue 1 Pg. 14675 (11 07 2017) ISSN: 2045-2322 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 29116116 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biogenic Amines
• Biomarkers
• 6-sulfatoxymelatonin
• Serotonin
• Melatonin

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Biogenic Amines (metabolism)
• Biomarkers (urine)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Melatonin (analogs & derivatives, metabolism, urine)
• Metabolic Networks and Pathways
• Metabolism, Inborn Errors (metabolism, urine)
• Middle Aged
• Reference Values
• Serotonin (metabolism)
• Young Adult