Cis-4-decenoic acid in plasma: a characteristic metabolite in medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.

The profile of organic acids in plasma of patients with a deficiency of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.99.3) was determined by gas-liquid chromatography of trimethylsilylated derivatives of the acids isolated by ethyl acetate extraction. All 13 patients had increased concentrations of free octanoate, cis-4-decenoate, and decanoate in their plasma. Cis-4-decenoate, an intermediary metabolite of linoleic acid, is pathognomonic of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency. This metabolite does not accumulate in plasma after oral loading with medium-chain triglycerides, in contrast to octanoate and decanoate. Two postmortem plasma samples from victims of infant sudden-death syndrome had detectable octanoate and decanoate, but cis-4-decenoate could not be detected. The identification of cis-4-decenoate in plasma may be an aid in the diagnosis of an inherited defect in oxidation of medium-chain fatty acids.