Cited by 167Gut microbiota and healthAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchTryptophan and brain disorders

Increased urinary excretion of a 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA), an abnormal phenylalanine metabolite of Clostridia spp. in the gastrointestinal tract, in urine samples from patients with autism and schizophrenia

Shaw, William·2010·Nutritional Neuroscience

Abstract

A compound identified as 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA) was found in higher concentrations in urine samples of children with autism compared to age and sex appropriate controls and in an adult with recurrent diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile infections. The highest value measured in urine samples was 7500 mmol/mol creatinine, a value 300 times the median normal adult value, in a patient with acute schizophrenia during an acute psychotic episode. The psychosis remitted after treatment with oral vancomycin with a concomitant marked decrease in HPHPA. The source of this compound appears to be multiple species of anaerobic bacteria of the Clostridium genus. The significance of this compound is that it is a probable metabolite of m-tyrosine (3-hydroxyphenylalanine), a tyrosine analog which depletes brain catecholamines and causes symptoms of autism (stereotypical behavior, hyperactivity, and hyper-reactivity) in experimental animals.

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Crossref · 10.1179/147683010x12611460763968

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  • Altered patterns of bacterial metabolites were seen in a large number of children with ASD compared to healthy controls, including elevated HPHPA, a catabolic byproduct of Clostridia.

    “Altered patterns of bacterial metabolites were seen in a large number of children with ASD compared to healthy control children. These metabolites included elevated 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA), a catabolic byproduct of Clostridia [59].”

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Authors
Shaw, W.
Corresponding author
Shaw, William
Venue
Nutritional Neuroscience
Published
2010-06
Volume
13
Issue
3
Pages
135-143
ISSN
  • 1028-415X (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-8305
OpenAlex
W2016430945
Cited by
162
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 3
FWCI
1.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nutritional Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
Keywords
urinary biomarkers, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, Clostridium, Clostridium difficile infection, m-tyrosine, phenylalanine metabolism, vancomycin, anaerobic gut bacteria, catecholamine depletion
MeSH terms
Acute Disease, Adolescent, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Child, Child, Preschool, Clostridium, Clostridium Infections, Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Phenylalanine, Phenylpropionates, Schizophrenia, Sex Characteristics, Vancomycin, Clostridioides difficile, Gastrointestinal Tract, Young Adult

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