Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37587187›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2023

Biodistribution and racemization of gut-absorbed L/D-alanine in germ-free mice.

Tian Autumn Qiu, Cindy J Lee, Chen Huang, Dong-Kyu Lee, Stanislav S Rubakhin, Elena V Romanova, Jonathan V Sweedler

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Sources and Metabolism of D-Amino Acids and Their Roles as Biomarkers in Kidney Disease: A Review.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. d-Alanine, a Circadian Metabolite that Regulates Glucose Metabolism and Viral Infection.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2025
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Tian Autumn QiuDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7254-9233
Cindy J LeeDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4707-3755
Chen HuangNeuroscience Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-5180-4140
Dong-Kyu LeeDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2355-8560
Stanislav S RubakhinDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0437-1493
Elena V RomanovaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2040-3312
Jonathan V SweedlerDepartment of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA. jsweedle@illinois.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3107-9922
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · US

Funding

SUBCELLULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUROTRANSMITTERSR01NS031609 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · PI SWEEDLER, JONATHAN V. · 1998 to 2022
$6.2M
NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS031609
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microbiome-derived metabolites are important for the microbiome-gut-brain axis and the discovery of new disease treatments. D-Alanine (D-Ala) is found in many animals as a potential co-agonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), receptors widely used in the nervous and endocrine systems. The gut microbiome, diet and putative endogenous synthesis are the potential sources of D-Ala in animals, although there is no direct evidence to show the distribution and racemization of gut-absorbed L-/D-Ala with regards to host-microbe interactions in mammals. In this work, we utilized germ-free mice to control the interference from microbiota and isotopically labeled L-/D-Ala to track their biodistribution and racemization in vivo. Results showed time-dependent biodistribution of gut-absorbed D-Ala, particularly accumulation of gut-absorbed D-Ala in pancreatic tissues, brain, and pituitary. No endogenous synthesis of D-Ala via racemization was observed in germ-free mice. The sources of D-Ala in mice were revealed as microbiota and diet, but not endogenous racemization. This work indicates the importance of further investigating the in vivo biological functions of gut-microbiome derived D-Ala, particularly on NMDAR-related activities, for D-Ala as a potential signaling molecules in the microbiome-gut-brain axis.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeMicrobiotaAlanineAnimalsBrain-Gut AxisMammalsMiceReceptors, N-Methyl-D-AspartateTissue DistributionAlanineReceptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate

Identifiers

PMID37587187
PMCPMC10432453
OpenAlexW4385877771

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.