Investigation of amino acid spectrum in plasma and tumorous tissue of children with neuroblastoma and nephroblastoma
Abstract
We analyzed the free amino acid profile in tumorous tissue and blood plasma of children (age 1 - 14 years) suffering from neuroblastoma and/or nephroblastoma (Wilm's kidney tumour) using of high-performance liquid chromatography. The results demonstrate that there is a significant difference in the content of free amino acids in the above tumours.
Neuroblastoma contains about half the amount of total free amino acids in comparison with nephroblastoma (59.78 +- 44.88 vs. 104.03 +- 43.37 μmol/g). Nevertheless, the percentage of water (humidity) in both types of tumorous tissue is very similar (85.1 vs. 81.0%).
The Fisher index is also similar in both types of tumours. In neuroblastoma there is more significantly (p<0.01) lower average content of taurine, histidine, arginine, less decreased (p<0.05) are serine, asparagine, glutamate, tryptophan and lysine, on the other hand there are higher values, contrary to nephroblastoma (not significant), of threonine and ornithine.
However, the concentration of free amino acids in plasma is in both kinds of tumours practically equal (2378 +- 632 vs. 2311 +- 292 μmol/l) similarly as Fischer's index (3.765 vs. 3.318). There were some significant differences in the content of free amino acids between ganglioneurinoma (a benign tumour) and neuroblastoma.
This study may be helpful for the administration of amino acids for correction of metabolic disturbances in patients suffering from malignancy.