Chapter 11 - Relation of human gut Alzheimer disease associated sequence (ADAS) with shikimate pathway metabolites

This chapter shows a link between metabolites of shikimate pathway (SP) and Alzheimer disease (AD) and AD-associated diseases. We previously reported that tryptamine and tryptophanol, the immediate metabolites of tryptophan (Trp), an essential aromatic amino acid (AAA), induce cell death. Trp is a product of metabolic SP, a seven-step metabolic route used by bacteria, fungi, algae, some protozoan parasites, and plants for the biosynthesis of AAAs (phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan). The SP leads to the biosynthesis of AAAs essential for protein biosynthesis and the production of a wide array of secondary metabolites. SP is not found in human and animal cells. The development of metabolic engineering allows for high-efficiency production of desired molecules derived from the SP using engineered microbes as biosynthetic factories.