Kynurenine pathway

The kynurenine pathway is a metabolic pathway leading to the production of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) from the degradation of the essential amino acid tryptophan. This pathway is thought to play a key role in the biology of aging, including neurodegeneration and other age-related pathologies, even though its precise mechanisms are not known. ^[1]

The Kynurenine Pathway

Kynurenine pathway and neurological diseases

The kynurenine pathway is involved in physiological functions such as behavior, sleep, thermo-regulation and pregnancy. There is evidence of kynurenine pathway involvement in neurotoxic mechanisms associated with several inflammatory neurological diseases, including AIDS dementia complex, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Cancer, Depression and Schizophrenia. Although the pathway is activated in these disorders, kynurenine and its metabolites can play both neurotoxic and neuroprotective roles by influencing neurotransmitter functions and inflammatory pathways peripherally and within the central nervous system.

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