Metabolomics reveals alterations of serotonin pathway in carriers of NOS1AP variant rs12742393

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: NOS1AP variant rs12742393 is a functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and has been reported to be associated with schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) susceptibility in different populations. However, the molecular mechanisms are not clear. The main focus of the present study was to identify metabolic differences among different genotypes of the variant and to identify potential physiological and pathological mechanisms for the diseases. Methods: In this study, we conducted a comprehensive serum metabolomic analysis in healthy subjects with different genotypes of rs12742393 (n = 49 for AA, AC, and CC, respectively) using gas chromatography–time of flight mass spectrometry and ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadruple time of flight mass spectrometry. Serotonin was also measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Our data showed that there were significant metabolic differences among the different genotypes of rs12742393: compared with AA carriers, serum serotonin and N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine were significantly higher; while tryptophan and kynurenine were significantly lower in CC allele carriers (variable importance in the projection (VIP) >1 and P < 0.05). In addition, CC allele carriers showed low levels of aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine and tyrosine) and fatty acids (lauric acid, 2-methyl-4-pentenoic acid, and adrenic acid), but a high level of isolithocholic acid (VIP >1 and P < 0.05). Conclusion: The influence of rs12742393 variant is involved in a set of complex metabolic alterations, including amino acids, fatty acids and cholic acids, especially those in the serotonin and kynurenine pathway, probably associates with the early development of schizophrenia and T2DM.