Determination of D-Amino Acids in Serum from Patients with Renal Dysfunction

Abstract

D-Ala and D-Ser were detected in the sera of both normal subjects and patients with renal dysfunction, and their concentrations were higher in the patients than in the normal subjects. A positive correlation between the concentration of D-Ala or D-Ser and that of creatinine (r=0.733, p<0.001 or r=0.634, p<0.001) or blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (r=0.449, p<0.05 or r=0.629, p<0.001) was observed in sera from 20 patients with renal dysfunction. The fraction (%D) of D-Ala in the total Ala in serum ([D/(D+L)]×100) correlated well with the concentration of creatinine (r=0.811, p<0.001), suggesting that it is a candidate as a marker for renal proximal tubular dysfunction. The correlations of %D of Ser with creatinine and BUN levels were 0.796 (p<0.001) and 0.919 (p<0.001), respectively, indicating that %D of Ser may reflect protein turnover or catabolism in certain tissues as well as renal proximal tubular dysfunction. © 1995, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.