Decreasing Tryptophan and Increasing Neopterin Plasma Levels During Pregnancy are Associated with High First Trimester Porphyromonas gingivalis K-Serotype IgG Serointensity in a Cohort of Hispanic Women

Teodor T Postolache; Sanjaya K Upadhyaya; Anna M Spector; Iqra Mohyuddin; Niel Constantine; Robert K Ernst; Abhishek Wadhawan; Samia Valeria Ozorio Dutra; Aline Dagdag; Hina Makkar; Christopher A Lowry; Faisal Akram; Dietmar Fuchs; Lisa A Brenner; Maureen W Groer; Mark A Reynolds

doi:10.2174/1568026622666220404115543

Decreasing Tryptophan and Increasing Neopterin Plasma Levels During Pregnancy are Associated with High First Trimester Porphyromonas gingivalis K-Serotype IgG Serointensity in a Cohort of Hispanic Women

Curr Top Med Chem. 2022;22(25):2126-2144. doi: 10.2174/1568026622666220404115543.

Authors

Teodor T Postolache^{1

2

3

4}, Sanjaya K Upadhyaya¹, Anna M Spector^{1

5}, Iqra Mohyuddin^{1

6}, Niel Constantine⁷, Robert K Ernst⁸, Abhishek Wadhawan^{1

5}, Samia Valeria Ozorio Dutra^{9

10}, Aline Dagdag¹, Hina Makkar^{1

5}, Christopher A Lowry^{2

3

11

12}, Faisal Akram^{1

5}, Dietmar Fuchs¹³, Lisa A Brenner^{2

3

12

14}, Maureen W Groer⁹, Mark A Reynolds¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ Mood and Anxiety Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Aurora, CO, USA.
³ Military and Veteran Microbiome: Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE), Aurora, CO, USA.
⁴ VISN 5 Capitol Health Care Network Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington DC, USA.
⁶ School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁷ Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁸ Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁹ College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
¹⁰ College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA.
¹¹ Department of Integrative Physiology, Center for Neuroscience, and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹² Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
¹³ Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck A-6020, Austria.
¹⁴ Department of Neurology, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Advanced Oral Sciences and Therapeutics, School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.

PMID: 35379151
DOI: 10.2174/1568026622666220404115543

Abstract

Background: Immune activation or high levels of stress may lead to increased metabolism of tryptophan during pregnancy. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), the "keystone" periodontal pathogen, induces immune and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activation. Thus, we hypothesized that larger gestational decreases in tryptophan and elevations in neopterin and kynurenine would occur in pregnant women with elevated IgG antibodies to Pg capsular (K) serotypes.

Methods: Venous blood of 52 Hispanic pregnant women with a mean age (SD) of 31.8 (5.9) years was sampled once per trimester of pregnancy (V1, V2, V3), and plasma was obtained and stored. ELISAs were used to measure Pg capsular (K) serotype IgG serointensity (V1 only) and neopterin levels (V1-V3). Tryptophan and kynurenine (V1-V3) were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. The participants having IgG serointensity for any of the seven Pg K serotypes in the highest quartile were defined as the "High PgK_IgG" group and those having IgG serointensity for all K serotypes in the lowest three quartiles were defined as the "Low PgK_IgG" group. Statistics included multivariable linear and nonparametric methods.

Results: Significant decreases in plasma tryptophan levels and increases in neopterin during gestation were found in "High PgK_IgG" women but not in "Low PgK_IgG" women. Kynurenine changes were not significantly different between the two groups.

Conclusion: If replicated in larger studies and further characterized clinically, radiologically, and microbiologically, our results may potentially lead to novel interventional targets, as well as the development of more complete prognostic and predictive interactive biomarkers for adverse obstetrical outcomes and peripartum depression, and their prevention.

Keywords: Hispanic.; IgG Serointensity; Kynurenine; Kynurenine pathway; Neopterin; Porphyromonas gingivalis; Porphyromonas gingivalis K-Serotype; Pregnancy; Tryptophan.

MeSH terms

Adult
Female
Humans
Immunoglobulin G
Neopterin
Porphyromonas gingivalis*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Trimester, First
Tryptophan*

Substances

Neopterin
Tryptophan
Immunoglobulin G

Grants and funding

R01HD086805/NH/NIH HHS/United States