HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Klassen, P. Articles by Solomons, N. W Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Klassen, P. Articles by Solomons, N. W Agricola Articles by Klassen, P. Articles by Solomons, N. W

Plasma free amino acid concentrations in healthy Guatemalan adults and in patients with classic dengue^1,2

¹ From the Institute for Biological Chemistry and Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany, and the Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala City.

Background: Plasma free amino acid patterns in health and disease have been reported. However, amino acid concentrations in adult populations in developing countries and in patients with dengue, as a model for an acute infectious viral disease endemic to the tropics, have not been reported.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the amino acid profile in both healthy Guatemalan adults from different socioeconomic backgrounds and at 3 time points during the course of classic dengue.

Design: The study was carried out in Guatemala and included measurement of plasma free amino acids in 22 healthy control subjects (14 low income, 8 middle class) and 17 febrile patients. Measurements of amino acids were repeated within a 48-h interval in 20 of the healthy Guatemalans. In 9 patients with dengue, amino acids were assayed 3 times: on admission to a local hospital in the coastal plain of Guatemala, on hospital discharge, and 7 d after hospital discharge.

Results: Branched-chain amino acid concentrations in healthy adults and dengue patients in Guatemala were lower than normal values reported in the literature for healthy Swedish adults. With the exception of increased phenylalanine concentrations and an increased ratio of phenylalanine to tyrosine, all amino acids as well as the Fischer molar ratio were decreased in the acute phase of dengue.

Conclusions: Healthy Guatemalans have different amino acid patterns than do Swedish subjects independent of socioeconomic status. The systemic viral disease dengue is associated with changes in the plasma free amino acid pattern, reflecting infection-related alterations in amino acid metabolism.

Key Words: Plasma amino acids • Guatemala • dengue • infection • Fischer molar ratio • phenylalanine-to-tyrosine ratio • glycine-to-valine ratio

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. M. Leonhardt, S.-J. Lee, P. B. Kavathas, and P. Cresswell Severe Tryptophan Starvation Blocks Onset of Conventional Persistence and Reduces Reactivation of Chlamydia trachomatis Infect. Immun., November 1, 2007; 75(11): 5105 - 5117. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Orellana, A. Jeyapalan, J. Escobar, J. W. Frank, H. V. Nguyen, A. Suryawan, and T. A. Davis Amino acids augment muscle protein synthesis in neonatal pigs during acute endotoxemia by stimulating mTOR-dependent translation initiation Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, November 1, 2007; 293(5): E1416 - E1425. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]