Scientific background

Quinolinic acid (QA) is a metabolite produced along the Kynurenine Pathway, which converts the aminoacid Tryptophan to NAD+, a co-factor of many enzymatic reactions. It has been described to share several neurotoxic functions particularly through the activation of the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor. Its production occurring in myeloid cells (macrophages, microglia, etc.) is mainly driven by inflammatory stress and is therefore suspected to play a key role in neuroinflammatory disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases but also Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Hence, while QA has been proposed as a biomarker in these indications, it might certainly warrant further investigation to serve as a surrogate in other “inflammation” related diseases such as cancer, metabolic disorders, etc.