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Lookup NU author(s): Pisit Charoenwongwatthana, Dr Halah AhmedORCiD, Dr Mark Gidley, Dr Seva TelezhkinORCiD, Dr Jamie Coulter, Dr Chien-Yi ChangORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
AbstractBackgroundThe kynurenine (KYN) pathway produces key metabolites for immunoregulation and neuromodulation in humans, but its presence and activity in the oral microbiome are unclear. This study investigates the functionality of the key kynureninase (KynU), which catalyses kynurenine to anthranilic acid (AA), in oral bacteria.MethodsBioinformatic analysis identified putative kynU genes in oral bacterial genomes, and structural similarity of the predicted proteins was evaluated using Template Modeling (TM)-score and Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) analyses. Selected kynU sequences were cloned into the pBAD-His A expression vector. Enzymatic activity was accessed by quantifying AA concentrations using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).ResultsAmong 71 species, seven oral bacteria were identified to possess the kynU. Structural analyses indicated KynU from four species may fold into functional enzymes. Three recombinant KynU from Burkholderiacepacia, Ralstoniapickettii, and Stenotrophomonasmaltophilia produced detectable levels of AA (21.27 ± 12.0 µM, 19.59 ± 8.6 µM, and 46.43 ± 36.8 µM, respectively), confirming functional KYN-to-AA conversion.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates KynU activity in oral bacteria, revealing an unrecognised aspect of microbial metabolism with potential implications for host-microbe interactions. Further investigation is required to elucidate the biological significance of bacterial KYN metabolites and their role in oral diseases.
Author(s): Charoenwongwatthana P, Ahmed H, Charlton A, Gidley M, Telezhkin V, Coulter J, Chang C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Oral Microbiology
Year: 2025
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 21/09/2025
Acceptance date: 02/09/2025
Date deposited: 01/10/2025
ISSN (electronic): 2000-2297
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/20002297.2025.2561213
DOI: 10.1080/20002297.2025.2561213
Data Access Statement: The data underlying this article are available in the article and the supplementary material.
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