TRYPTOPHAN METABOLISM: IMPLICATIONS FOR BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, HEALTH AND DISEASE, ss.121-145, 2015 (SCI-Expanded)
Chronic immune activation is encountered in different pathologies including granulomatous and functional bowel diseases, cancer, aging, atherosclerosis, and obesity. Persistence of chronic inflammatory stimuli over time creates a biologic background for immunosenescence and favors neopterin formation with the enhanced tryptophan (Trp) degradation in diseases concomitant with cellular immune activation. Trp degradation leads to the generation of several neuroactive compounds by three distinct pathways.