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Laboratory of Human Nutrition, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
2 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: vryoung{at}mit.edu.
| ABSTRACT |
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KEY WORDS: amino acids excess risks safety metabolism mechanism
The proportions of amino acids in diets consumed by human populations usually differ from the proportions in which they are required to efficiently support growth and maintenance, although adverse effects due to such differences are not common. However, insufficient or excessive amounts of individual amino acids included in, or added to, diets result in adverse effects (13), as clearly demonstrated in experimental animals (2). A particular problem is to assess the human relevance and applicability of these experimental data, especially in view of the sparse and disordered information that is available from human studies, in part because it is possible that the effects of specific amino acid intake levels may differ as a function of species as well as the anatomical location analyzed. A second challenge is to outline an effective way to close this large gap in current knowledge about the metabolic and functional consequences of abnormal or unusual, in particular high, intakes in human subjects.
Thus, a series of workshops has been planned and initiated under the auspices of the International Council on Amino Acid Science (ICAAS; esato@icaas-org.com), with its secretariat in Tokyo, Japan, to address these major issues. This second amino acid assessment workshop (2nd AAAW) will build on the deliberations of the 1st AAAW, held in Tokyo, June 2001. The objective of the latter was to review comprehensively the roles of dietary amino acids in cellular and organ function, as well as the consequences associated with abnormal or unusual, in particular high, intakes in human subjects. The emphasis of the discussions was intended to be, as far as possible, on mechanisms and quantitative aspects, with the goal of eventually developing a working framework for assessment of the consequences of abnormal amino acid intakes. In addition, an aim was to begin to develop the details of a research program that would generate a sufficient knowledge base for purposes of making sound and effective recommendations and policies concerning amino acid intakes by human subjects.
In this introductory paper I will first review, in summary form, the major topics covered and issues arising at the 1st AAAW, because the proceedings were not published. I will outline the proposed preliminary strategy that emerged at a final workshop session as a possible basis for identifying the type of information required and the basic and applied research needed to generate this information. This will serve to introduce the major objectives of the present workshop. These, in part, are to consider how the explosion of knowledge in biology, before and during this postgenome sequencing era and the associated technology, could help to fully identify the mechanisms involved and better predict the metabolic responses and their functional sequelae to widely altered intakes of amino acid and their safety in humans.
A rationale for an AAAW series
In the broader sense, the 1st AAAW and its successors have the overall purpose to establish a continuing scientific dialog among experts in amino acid nutrition, metabolism, cell and molecular biology, toxicology and regulation/policy. The eventual goal is to construct a scientific framework that would be used for making a precise prediction of the consequence(s) of a particular amino acid intake(s) in people under various conditions.
This purpose is made necessary because there is no formal, established risk assessment paradigm for intakes of amino acids that are in significant excess of physiological requirements. In contrast, there are established procedures for nonnutrients based on hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization (48). This approach involves a dose response assessment to define levels of intake without appreciable adverse effects. However, the necessary information from systematic research is not available for (essentially) all micro- and macronutrients, especially in humans. It is also quite clear from the recent Food and Nutrition Board/Institute of Medicine (FNB/IOM) initiative, to set new dietary reference intakes, especially with regard to upper levels (9), that a similar application of the approach used for nonnutrients would be unworkable for nutrients, including amino acids.
Therefore, the broad objective is to assemble, during the course of a continuing AAAW series, the pieces of the scientific/biological jigsaw puzzle that would help lead to the establishment of a suitable model for application with amino acids and other nutrients; with the appropriate consultation and deliberation, the model might then be applied internationally for assessing safe intakes of amino acids by specific populations.
The 1st AAAW
Amino acids/mixtures are used in clinical nutrition and for health promotion. Hence, in turn, to promote their safe and effective application, it is necessary to establish a sound scientific basis for evaluating their efficacy and "safety". In this context a series of questions immediately emerge: i) what are their roles, i.e., what is the nature of their metabolism and function(s); ii) what are the adverse effects of excessive intakes and what mechanisms are involved; iii) how might these be predicted or anticipated; iv) what is the effect of genetic and other factors on the response to amino acid intakes; and v) what are the critical research issues?
With these kinds of questions in mind, the 1st AAAW was organized and held in Tokyo, June 2001. It included experts from various areas of amino acid biology, and the objective and purpose was i) to review the roles and metabolism of dietary amino acids in relation to cell and organ function, and ii) to identify the possible consequences associated with abnormal or unusual, in particular high, intakes in human subjects. The focus of the discussions was intended to be, as far as possible, on mechanisms and quantification. It was planned that a working framework for assessment of the consequences of abnormal amino acid intakes might be developed, together with a number of the details of a research program required to generate a sufficient knowledge base for purposes of making sound and effective recommendations and policies.
The program was arranged with due regard for the context of dietary amino acid adequacy or excess in humans. Specifically it was recognized that i) amino acids are physiologically significant components/derivatives of food proteins; ii) their metabolism is closely interlinked; iii) dietary factors modify the response to specific amino acid intakes; iv) host characteristics also determine responses and these need to be specified and understood; and v) there are adaptations/accommodations to intakes of amino acids depending on the time frame under consideration.
The 1st AAAW consisted of four sessions, lasting a total of one and a half days. Session I dealt with amino acid function, interorgan metabolism requirements and plasma levels. Session II was devoted to inborn errors, excessive intakes of single amino acids, high intakes and the nature of the adverse effects. In Session III emphasis was given to the issues of safety assessment, concepts and the framework for risk assessment. Session IV attempted to bring together the major ideas emerging from Sessions IIII to begin to outline a proposed framework for evaluating amino acid adequacy and safety.
It was emphasized during the course of these sessions that i) amino acids serve many different and many multiple functions (Table 1), and ii) their metabolism is highly interconnected. Many examples of this latter characteristic of these nutrient molecules might be given. However, for illustrative purposes the recent observations made by Chen et al. (11) are instructive. Thus, it was shown that arginine supplementation failed to reduce the atherosclerotic burden in apoE(-/-)mice. In fact it obliterated the protective effect of iNOS deficiency in iNOS(-/-)/ApoE(-/-) mice. A possible explanation for these findings has been offered in a thoughtful editorial by Loscalzo (12). He proposes that the arginine supplementation created a methylation demand or stress, associated with a stimulation of creatine synthesis and, in the process, an increase in the rate of L-homocysteine generation with raised plasma homocysteine concentrations (Fig. 1). In this context, it has also been shown that creatine supplementation reduces L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase expression, attenuating methylation stress and reducing plasma homocysteine in rats (13). This is a contemporary example of amino acid interrelationships which in this case concerns the effect of a generous intake of a specific amino acid (arginine) on the function of a specific system, the atherothrombotic vasculature, that might be due possibly to another amino acid, homocysteine. Clearly such intimate metabolic connections that occur among amino acids must be considered in any comprehensive assessment of amino acid adequacy and safety. Furthermore, the individual amino acids are involved in the functioning of various physiological and anatomic systems, through their participation in multiple metabolic/cellular processes as has been summarized by Reeds (14) (Table 2). These systems might serve as at least an initial focus of inquiry into the consequences of altered and excess intakes of specific amino acids or mixtures of amino acids.
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35% of controls and the disturbance in ß-cell maturation, specifically the transition of progenitor-ß to precursor-ß cells, disappeared upon arginine supplementation. Finally, it was emphasized that there is a need to establish appropriate default measures and the development of surrogate markers. It was further proposed that a vigorous strategic research effort to carry out comparative studies in experimental animals (rats) and humans, in which plasma metabolites, metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics are exploited would lead to important advances in this area and help fill the gap in knowledge concerning metabolism and functional responses to altered amino acid intakes in humans. The 2nd AAAW
These various issues noted above provided a partial rationale for the program and series of papers for the present workshop. Here, it is the intent to focus on how relatively recent advances in biology, made before and during this postgenome era (and the associated technology), might help to better understand the mechanisms involved and to improve the ability to predict the responses to altered intakes of amino acids and their safety. Thus, among other things, there is a need to i) determine how to define and identify molecular signatures of a pathological response to amino acid intake; ii) perhaps identify a distinct set of genes that differentiate adequacy from excess for specific amino acids; iii) explore the power of a microarray approach to establish a molecular profile of amino acid adequacy/excess, and iv) decide what organs/tissues on which to focus a major effort. Should it be the brain, the liver and/or the gut? This issue of tissue or organ focus is underscored simply, for example, by the recent observation that excess methionine induced glycine N-methyltransferase activity and abundance in the liver, with the kidney being less responsive and the pancreas being unresponsive (21).
Finally, regulation, and in consequence disregulation, can occur at various loci above the genome, including at the level of the proteome, metabolome and the system in which these operate; each should be considered in reference to the issues above. Indeed, it also may now be possible to explore new lines of investigation for this purpose as we move from use of simple/single indicators (markers) of adequacy/deficiency/excess to develop and explore new, more comprehensive indices of functional significance: i.e., a more global approach (involving measurement of apoptosis, signaling pathways and membrane activities, for example) in real time with quantitative metabolic kinetics during different states (fasting, prandial, postprandial). As this effort is undertaken the crucial influence of heterogeneity of response should also be recognized. In addition, it can be anticipated that there will be an emergence of new signaling pathways, transporters/receptors, molecular targets, mRNA and protein expression patterns, all of which have ramifications for subpopulation analysis and the application of pharmacogenomics. Basically, there is need to develop reliable functional markers of amino acid adequacy and excess in human subjects. Such markers might include such characteristics as those suggested, for example, by Benzie (22). They should: i) be accessible for measurement; the marker must be present in body fluids or cells that can be sampled or imaged in some way, ii) be in a form and quantity that can be measured objectively and reproducibly; suitable analytical tools and methods must be available, and iii) reflect a change in the target tissue or fluid that has a direct impact on health, i.e., they must relate to a physiological or pathological endpoint for that amino acid.
It seems likely that combinations of markers (23), including molecular, biochemical and physiological (22) and those that measure a) exposure, b) response or toxic effect and c) susceptibility (24) will be needed to better and more completely characterize the spectrum of response to intakes of amino acids.
Coda
There is much to be learned about the metabolic and functional consequences of specific and especially relatively high intakes of amino acids in humans subjects. Hence, this workshop will build on the ideas and issues identified at the 1st AAAW, as noted above. The aim is to eventually maximize the contribution that exogenous amino acid intake(s) can make to promoting health and attenuating disease processes.
| FOOTNOTES |
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