The research of new
biomarkers for
Parkinson's disease is essential for accurate and precocious diagnosis, as well as for the discovery of new potential disease mechanisms and drug targets. The main objective of this work was to identify metabolic changes that might serve as
biomarkers for the diagnosis of this
neurodegenerative disorder. For this, we profiled the plasma metabolome from mice with
neurotoxin-induced
Parkinson's disease as well as from patients with familial or sporadic
Parkinson's disease. By using mass spectrometry technology, we analyzed the complete metabolome from healthy volunteers compared to patients with idiopathic or familial (carrying the G2019S or R1441G mutations in the LRRK2 gene)
Parkinson's disease, as well as, from mice treated with
6-hydroxydopamine to induce
Parkinson disease. Both human and murine Parkinson was accompanied by an increase in plasma levels of unconjugated
bile acids (
cholic acid,
deoxycholic acid and
lithocholic acid) and
purine base intermediary metabolites, in particular
hypoxanthine. The comprehensive metabolomic analysis of plasma from Parkinsonian patients underscores the importance of
bile acids and
purine metabolism in the pathophysiology of this disease. Therefore, plasma measurements of certain metabolites related to these pathways might contribute to the diagnosis of
Parkinson's Disease.