Fig. 4: PCA reveals PC2, a sex-associated signature of KP dysregulation in PD. | npj Parkinson's Disease

Fig. 4: PCA reveals PC2, a sex-associated signature of KP dysregulation in PD.

From: Sex differences in peripheral and central dysregulation of the kynurenine pathway in Parkinson’s disease

Fig. 4

PCA of all 16 KP-related markers was performed, pooling all subjects with complete plasma and CSF data (N = 183). a Individual PC1 scores (x axis) vs PC2 scores (y axis) in Control (left) and PD groups (right), with color indicating male and female subgroups, suggest higher PC2 scores in PD in females. Ellipses reflect 95% CIs. b Two-way ANCOVA confirms significantly higher PC2 scores in PD in females, with a strong sex*PD interaction. Interaction plots (left) show estimated mean PC scores (with 95% CI) for each subgroup after controlling for age, with full distributions shown at right. Asterisks indicate Bonferroni-adjusted P values of simple main effects from post-hoc, pairwise comparisons (****P < 0.0001). Effects of sex within PD and Control groups are in black font; effects of PD within males or females are colored by sex. c PC1 and PC2 loadings, i.e., associations between PC scores and individual marker concentrations, illustrate the pathway signature reflected by each PC. PCA principal component analysis, TRP tryptophan, KYN kynurenine, 5HT 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), 3HK 3-hydroxykynurenine, QUIN quinolinic acid, KYNA kynurenic acid, PIC picolinic acid, NTA nicotinamide, AA anthranilic acid.

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