Abstract
Neopterin (NP) is a pteridine derivative that is secreted as a response to gamma interferon stimulation. The purpose in this study was to investigate the relationship between the NP levels and the disease and determining the efficacy of an interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and C (CHC). The study was conducted on 49 cases with CHB, 30 cases with CHC and 72 healthy individuals. Serum samples were taken from the patients receiving treatment at the beginning and at the end of the treatment and only once from the healthy individuals in the control group. The NP levels were found significantly higher in the patients with CHB and CHC than those in the control group. When the pre and post-treatment serum NP levels of the patients who received an interferon therapy were compared, the post-treatment NP levels of the patients who responded to the treatment were significantly higher. When a comparison was made before and after treatment, a decrease was seen in the NP levels in most of the infections due to decreased activation of the immune system. However, when the disease was treated with an IFN therapy, which is a treatment stimulating the immune system, the post-treatment NP level remained high.
Highlights
Neopterin (NP) is a pteridine derivative that is secreted by macrophages and monocytes through a primary IFNgamma stimulation occurring as a result of the activation of the cellular immune system [1,2,3,4]
No statistically significant difference was found between the pre- and post-treatment serum NP levels in the group that did not respond to the treatment (p>0.05) (Table 4)
The IFN-gamma secreted from T lymphocytes activates macrophages and NP is released [13, 14]
Summary
Neopterin (NP) is a pteridine derivative that is secreted by macrophages and monocytes through a primary IFNgamma stimulation occurring as a result of the activation of the cellular immune system [1,2,3,4]. NP is regarded as a sensitive indicator of cell-mediated immunity [1,3,5]. The relationship of NP production with cellular immune activation has been evidenced in a large number of clinical and experimental studies carried out to date and a considerable increase has been found in NP levels in body fluids during bacterial and parasitic infections and in viral infections, all of which trigger cellular immune response [3,6,7]. A necrosis is seen in chronic hepatitis, which is composed of lymphocyte and plasma cells that are spread over parenchyma and perilobular areas. The IFN-gamma secreted from T lymphocytes activates macrophages and the NP released from these activated macrophages may be an indicator of inflammation in a chronic liver disease [8,9]
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