Clinical Chemistry, Vol 41, 1094-1104, Copyright © 1995 by American Association for Clinical Chemistry

Increased urinary excretion of analogs of Krebs cycle metabolites and arabinose in two brothers with autistic features

W Shaw, E Kassen and E Chaves
Department of Pathology, Children's Mercy Hospital, University of Missouri-Kansas City 64108, USA.

A marked increase in analogs of Krebs cycle metabolites was found in the urine of two brothers with autistic features. These metabolites included citramalic, tartaric (3-OH-malic), and 3-oxoglutaric acids and compounds tentatively identified as a citric acid analog and partially identified as a phenylcarboxylic acid by the fragmentation pattern of the trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives of the compounds and mass shifts of the same compounds derivatized with perdeuterated N,O- bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide. The molecular mass of the TMS derivative of the tentatively identified citric acid analog was 596 Da, based on a finding of a significant M - 15 ion at m/z 581. The citric acid analog was excreted in quantities as high as 137 mmol/mol creatinine, based on the response factor of citric acid as a surrogate calibrator. A carbohydrate with a retention time and mass spectrum identical to arabinose was also found in high concentrations in the urine of these brothers.

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				H. M. Parracho, M. O Bingham, G. R Gibson, and A. L McCartney Differences between the gut microflora of children with autistic spectrum disorders and that of healthy children J. Med. Microbiol., October 1, 2005; 54(10): 987 - 991. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Lord, C. K. Burdette, and J. A. Bralley Significance of Urinary Tartaric Acid Clin. Chem., March 1, 2005; 51(3): 672 - 673. [Full Text] [PDF]