The relationship between tyramine levels and inflammation in metabolic syndrome

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an important contributor to both type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Although MetS affects one third of American adults, its pathogenesis remains to be elucidated. Tyramine, a derivative of tyrosine, has been shown to act as a catecholamine releasing agent in the human body. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of tyramine as an early biomarker for nascent MetS without the confounding of T2DM, ASCVD or smoking. Patients and methods This was an exploratory study of 28 patients with nascent MetS and 20 matched controls carried out in 2018. Metabolites were evaluated from patient's frozen early morning urine samples and were correlated with biomarkers of inflammation and adipokines. They were assayed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Western Metabolomics Center using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and standardized to urinary creatinine. All patients had normal hepatic and renal function. Results Tyramine concentrations were significantly reduced in patients with MetS compared to controls, p = 0.0009. In addition, tyramine was significantly inversely correlated with multiple biomarkers of inflammation and cardiometabolic risk factors such as RBP4, monocyte TLR-4 abundance and P38MAPKinase activity, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) (both systolic and diastolic). Conclusion In conclusion, low levels of tyramine could contribute to the proinflammatorty state of MetS.