Kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism in patients with familial Mediterranean fever.

This article focuses on investigating the role of the kynurenine pathway (KP) metabolites in patients with Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an autoinflammatory syndrome characterized by recurrent fever and polyserositis. In a case-control study of 81 FMF patients in attack-free periods and 80 healthy controls, serum levels of tryptophan (TRP), kynurenine (KYN), kynurenic acid (KYNA), 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3HAA), 3-hydroxykynurenine (3HK), and quinolinic acid (QUIN) were measured using tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed significantly decreased TRP and KYNA levels and increased KYN, QUIN, 3HK, 3HAA, and KYN/TRP ratio in FMF patients compared to controls, indicating enhanced TRP degradation via the KP during subclinical inflammation. The study suggests that KP metabolites may serve as useful biomarkers for detecting subclinical inflammation in FMF and could represent potential therapeutic targets.