Neopterin in HIV-1 infection

Neopterin production in relation to COVID-19 in the Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon

BACKGROUND

In sub-Saharan Africa, understanding of the immune process associated with the COVID-19 pandemic remains scarce. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between plasma neopterin concentrations and COVID-19 infection, focusing on changes over time and age-related changes in immune response.

METHODS

A retrospective case study was conducted during the first wave of COVID-19 from March to August 2020. Whole blood and associated symptoms and comorbidities were collected from patients of all ages and sexes. Concentrations of plasma neopterin were measured using a commercial competitive neopterin ELISA (Neopterin ELISA, IBL International GmbH, Germany).

RESULTS

We analyzed data for 325 patients: 38% (n = 124) with COVID-19, and 62% (n = 201) without COVID-19, as a control group. We found that plasma neopterin concentrations were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group (mean value 45.1 nmol/L (SD 19)) than in the control group (mean value 33.8 nmol/L (SD 13)) (p = 0.004). In addition, neopterin levels decreased gradually over time in patients with COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Moreover, ROC analysis found that the best cut-off value for diagnosing COVID-19 patients based on plasma neopterin levels was 38.85 nmol/L with 70% sensitivity and 82% specificity (AUC, 0.74 [0.69-0.82], p < 0.05). We also found an increase in neopterin production with increasing age (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Our findings contribute to our growing understanding of neopterin levels as a promising biomarker for the detection of COVID-19 cases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Central Nervous System Effects of Early HIV Infection and Consequences of Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation during Acute HIV

HIV infection is a multi-organ disease that involves the central nervous system (CNS). While devastating CNS complications such as HIV-associated dementia and CNS opportunistic infection typically manifest years after HIV acquisition, HIV RNA is readily detected in the cerebrospinal fluid in untreated neuroasymptomatic people with HIV, highlighting that HIV neuroinvasion predates overt clinical manifestations. Over the past two decades, increased awareness of HIV infection within the at-risk population, coupled with the accessibility of nucleic acid testing and modern HIV immunoassays, has made the detection of acute and early HIV infection readily achievable. This review aims to summarize research findings on CNS involvement during acute and early HIV infection, as well as the outcomes following the immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy during this early stage of infection. The knowledge gap in long-term neuroprotection through early ART within the first year of infection will be discussed.

Development trends of immune activation during HIV infection in recent three decades: a bibliometric analysis based on CiteSpace

This study aimed to evaluate and pinpoint the status, hot areas, and frontiers of immune activation during HIV infection utilizing CiteSpace. From 1990 to 2022, we searched for studies on immune activation during HIV infection in the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace was used to visually analyze the publications to identify the research status and pertinent research hotspots and frontiers in terms of the countries, institutions, authors, references, journals, and keywords. The Web of Science Core Collection yielded 5321 articles on immune activation during HIV infection. With 2854 and 364 articles, the United States and the University of California, San Francisco were the leading nation and institution in this domain. Steven G. Deeks has published 95 papers and is the most published author. The top cited articles on microbial translocation as a significant factor during HIV infection were published by Brenchley et al. Research on molecular/biology/genetics is often referenced in publications in the journals of molecular/biology/immunology. Inflammation, risk, mortality, cardiovascular disease, persistence, and biomarkers will be high-frequency words that are hot topics of research. According to the results, there was a strong collaboration between countries and organizations but little collaboration among authors. Molecular biology, immunology, and medicine are the main study subjects. The current hot topics in research are inflammation, risk, mortality, cardiovascular disease, persistence, and biomarkers. Future studies should concentrate on reducing the pathological changes caused by inflammation and altering the mechanisms of immune activation to reduce the size of the viral reservoir.

High Plasma Levels of Neopterin Are Associated with Increased Mortality among Children with Severe Malaria in Benin

Among the barriers to accessing adequate treatment and high-level monitoring for malaria febrile patients is the lack of effective prognostic markers. Neopterin, which is a marker of monocyte/macrophage activation, was found have increased during severe malaria. In this study, we used quantitative ELISA in order to assess the levels of plasma soluble neopterin in 151 patients from a cohort of Beninese children with severe malaria. We evaluated the prognostic accuracy of this molecule in order to predict the outcome of the disease. Our results show that neopterin levels were not significantly different between patients with different forms of severe malaria, including severe non-cerebral malaria (SNCM) and cerebral malaria (CM). However, the levels of this molecule were found to be higher in patients with severe malarial anemia (SMA) among both CM and SNCM cases (p-value = 0.02). Additionally, the levels of this molecule were found to be higher in patients who died from these pathologies compared to those who survived among the two clinical groups (p-value < 0.0001) and within the same group (p-value < 0.0001 for the CM group, p-value = 0.0046 for the SNCM group). The AUC-ROC for fatality among all the severe cases was 0.77 with a 95%CI of (0.69-0.85). These results suggest that plasma neopterin levels constitute a potential biomarker for predicting fatality among severe falciparum malaria patients.

Blood concentrations of neopterin and biopterin in subjects with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Pteridines, such as neopterin, biopterin, and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH₄), may be involved in depression pathophysiology owing to their links to immune-inflammatory response, oxidative and nitrosative stress, and monoaminergic transmission. Nonetheless, studies assessing pteridines in depression are inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies comparing blood pteridine concentrations between subjects with depression and healthy controls (HCs).

METHODS

We searched Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycInfo for articles indexed through November 2021. Study quality was appraised, evaluating age and gender comparability between groups, sample representativeness, and methods to assess depression. Random-effects meta-analyses were carried out, generating pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs). Heterogeneity across studies was estimated using the I² statistic.

RESULTS

Twenty-four studies, involving 3075 subjects, were included. Individuals with depression showed blood neopterin concentrations higher than HCs (k = 19; SMD = 0.36; p < 0.001) with moderate heterogeneity across studies (I² = 58.2%). No moderating role of age, gender, or type of blood sample was found. Sensitivity analyses showed no impact of inconsistency and quality of studies on findings. Neopterin concentrations were higher among individuals with major depressive disorder compared to HCs (SMD = 0.44; p < 0.001). This held true also when considering only drug-free subjects (SMD = 0.68; p = 0.003). No differences in biopterin concentrations were found between subjects with depression and HCs (k = 5; SMD = -0.35; p = 0.086), though this result was limited by inconsistency of findings (I² = 77.9%) and quality of studies. Finally, no sufficient data were available for a meta-analysis on BH₄.

CONCLUSIONS

As a whole, our work partly supports the hypothesis of an imbalance of pteridine metabolism in depression.

The importance of neopterin in COVID-19: The prognostic value and relation with the disease severity

Coronavirus Disease 2019 [COVID-19], caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2], has rapidly evolved into a global health emergency. Neopterin [NPT], produced by macrophages when stimulated with interferon [IFN-]gamma, is an essential cytokine in the antiviral immune response. NPT has been used as a marker for the early assessment of disease severity in different diseases. The leading cause of NPT production is the pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-. Macrophage activation has also been revealed to be linked with disease severity in SARS-CoV-2 patients. We demonstrate the importance of NPT in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest that targeting NPT in SARS-CoV-2 infection may be critical in the early prediction of disease progression and provision of timely management of infected individuals.

Neopterin Relates to Lifetime Depression in Older Adults With HIV on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy

BACKGROUND

Chronic inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of depression in persons with HIV (PWH). Neopterin, a biomarker of HIV-related immune activation that partially normalizes with antiretroviral therapy (ART), correlates with major depressive disorder (MDD) and subclinical depressive symptoms in persons without HIV and acutely infected, young PWH. The sensitivity of neopterin, however, to both lifetime and current depression is poorly understood in older PWH on suppressive ART.

METHODS

Participants were 70 PWH and 35 persons without HIV (HIV-) who were at least 50 years old and completed standardized neurobehavioral and neuromedical assessments. Depressive symptoms in the past 2 weeks, measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and lifetime MDD diagnoses, defined as meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria for a depressive episode at any point in one's lifetime, were separately modeled as a function of plasma neopterin levels in the full sample and by HIV serostatus.

RESULTS

Compared with HIV- adults, PWH had higher neopterin levels (P < 0.001) and BDI-II scores (P < 0.01) and were more likely to have lifetime MDD (P < 0.01). Higher neopterin related to lifetime MDD, but only in PWH, even after controlling for clinically relevant comorbidities and treatment factors in logistic regression (odds ratio = 3.11, P = 0.002). Higher neopterin correlated with higher BDI-II scores in the full sample (rs = 0.25; P = 0.010), but not within either group (PWH: rs = 0.03, P = 0.819; HIV-: rs = 0.09, P = 0.588).

CONCLUSION

Neopterin was associated with lifetime MDD, but not current depressive symptoms in older PWH on suppressive ART. This may reflect a legacy of inflammation-related disruptions to amino acid metabolism and neurotransmitter synthesis, similar to prior observations. Identification of biopsychosocial and resilience factors underlying the null association between neopterin and current depression in older PWH is warranted.

Determination of Neopterin as a Prognostic Indicator Using Neopterin-Imprinted Cryogel Membranes

Neopterin (Neo) is thought of as a key biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of a wide variety of diseases associated with cellular immune response. Therefore, it has become a vital need to be able to specifically determine the Neo concentration in human serum. Molecularly imprinted cryogels have come into prominence among other affinity systems by combining advantages of Molecular Imprinting Technology (MIT) and cryogels. In this chapter, synthesis of novel Neopterin-imprinted cryogel membranes (Neo-mip), characterization studies of synthesized materials, and their use in the determination of Neo in human serum is described in detail. In addition, the evaluation of selective Neo adsorption properties of Neo-mip against competitors (Pterin and Glucose) is discussed. Neo-mip will come into prominence as important affinity materials for the selective Neo recognition in body fluids, prior to use in the health sector.

The Impact of Ageing on the CNS Immune Response in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease strongly associated with increasing age. Neuroinflammation and the accumulation of amyloid protein are amongst the hallmarks of this disease and most translational research to date has focused on targeting these two processes. However, the exact etiology of AD remains to be fully elucidated. When compared alongside, the immune response in AD closely resembles the central nervous system (CNS) immune changes seen in elderly individuals. It is possible that AD is a pathological consequence of an aged immune system secondary to chronic stimulation by a previous or ongoing insult. Pathological changes like amyloid accumulation and neuronal cell death may reflect this process of immunosenescence as the CNS immune system fails to maintain homeostasis in the CNS. It is likely that future treatments designed to modulate the aged immune system may prove beneficial in altering the disease course. The development of new tests for appropriate biomarkers would also be essential in screening for patients most likely to benefit from such treatments.

On the Possible Relevance of Bottom-up Pathways in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia is an increasing health problem in older aged populations worldwide. Age-related changes in the brain can be observed decades before the first symptoms of cognitive decline appear. Cognitive impairment has chronic inflammatory components, which can be enhanced by systemic immune activation. There exist mutual interferences between inflammation and cognitive deficits. Signs of an activated immune system i.e. increases in the serum concentrations of soluble biomarkers such as neopterin or accelerated tryptophan breakdown along the kynurenine axis develop in a significant proportion of patients with dementia and correlate with the course of the disease, and they also have a predictive value. Changes in biomarker concentrations are reported to be associated with systemic infections by pathogens such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and bacterial content in saliva. More recently, the possible influence of microbiome composition on Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis has been observed. These observations suggest that brain pathology is not the sole factor determining the pathogenesis of AD. Interestingly, patients with AD display drastic changes in markers of immune activation in the circulation and in the cerebrospinal fluid. Other data have suggested the involvement of factors extrinsic to the brain in the pathogenesis of AD. However, currently, neither the roles of these factors nor their importance has been clearly defined.

Neopterin: A Promising Candidate Biomarker for Severe COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has rapidly spread across the world since its first emergence in China in late 2019. It is a major public health concern with no effective treatct 3ments. The immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with an excessive inflammatory response. Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is also associated with the severity of the disease in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. Neopterin is a macrophage activation marker produced by monocytes and macrophages upon activation by interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Neopterin is a well-established marker in a variety of diseases, and recent evidence indicates that it could be helpful in early prediction of the severity of COVID-19 disease and serve as a prognostic marker. Here, we outline the role of macrophage activation syndrome in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest that neopterin could be used as a biomarker for progression of COVID-19.

The potential role of neopterin in Covid-19: a new perspective

Neopterin (NPT) is a member of pteridines group, synthesized by macrophages when stimulated by interferon gamma (INF-γ). NPT is regarded as a macrophage stimulation indicator, marker of cellular immune activation and T helper 1 (Th1) type 1 immune response. Here, we aimed to provide a view point on the NPT features and role in Covid-19. Serum NPT level is regarded as an independent prognostic factor for Covid-19 severity, with levels starting to increase from the 3rd day of SARS-CoV-2 infection, being associated with severe dyspnea, longer hospitalization period and complications. Also, early raise of NPT reflects monocytes/macrophages activation before antibody immune response, despite the NPT level may also remain high in Covid-19 patients or at the end of incubation period before the onset of clinical symptoms. On the other hand, NPT attenuates the activity of macrophage foam cells and is linked to endothelial inflammation through inhibition of adhesion molecules and monocytes migration. However, NPT also exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by suppressing NF-κB signaling and NLRP3 inflammasomes. NPT can be viewed as a protective compensatory mechanism to counterpoise hyper-inflammation, oxidative stress, and associated organ damage.

Neopterin serum level does not reflect the disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease caused by established chronic inflammation. Neopterin levels have extensively been considered as a marker of immune activation during inflammation. In this study, we performed a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis to elucidate the overall relationship between neopterin concentration and RA disease activity. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, a systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus from 2000 to August 2020. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of eligible studies. The effect size (ES) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate this association. A total of 15 studies out of 98 met our inclusion criteria. The pooled analysis found that patients with RA had high level of neopterin; however, no statistically significant association was found between neopterin levels with high, intermediate, and low diseases activity score (DAS)-28 (ES =11.18, 95% CI: 6.02 to 16.34, and I² = 91.8%; and ES = 8.57, 95% CI: 6.41 to 10.37, and I² = 99.5%; and ES =12.45, 95% CI: -1.68 to 26.58, and I² = 99.0%, respectively). Our results indicated that the neopterin concentration does not seem to have any substantial impact on the RA disease activity.

Serum Neopterin Is Not Influenced by Age and Blood Group of Transfusion-Transmitted Infection Negative Blood Donors

Objectives

To measure serum neopterin levels in blood donors of the local population and to study its relationship with age and blood group of transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) negative blood donors.

Methodology

This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Physiology at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College (LNMC), Karachi, Pakistan, in collaboration with the Basic Medical Sciences Institute and Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Data were collected from January 2018 to July 2018. A total of 174 blood donors participated in the study, who were selected by using a random sampling technique. They were screened through the standard procedures used for screening at the JPMC blood bank for TTIs as per the World Health Organization recommendations. Serum neopterin was estimated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Chi-square and ANOVA (analysis of variance) were applied, and tests of significance were kept as P < 0.05.

Results

Neopterin level in the serum of TTI-positive blood donors was 15.1 ± 4.59 nmol/L, which was above the normal range and cutoff value of 10 nmol/L, whereas the neopterin level in the serum of TTI-negative blood donors was 6.1 ± 1.82 nmol/L (P = 0.001). In TTI-negative blood donors, the neopterin levels were within normal limits and were not influenced by age and blood groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Serum neopterin levels did not report any significant difference in terms of age and blood group of TTI-negative blood donors and were seen to be within normal limits.

Associations Between Plasma Immunomodulatory and Inflammatory Mediators With VACS Index Scores Among Older HIV-Infected Adults on Antiretroviral Therapy

The prevalence of age-related comorbidities is increased in people living with HIV, even in those well-controlled on combination antiretroviral therapy (ART). Persistent immune activation and inflammation may play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis; however, the burden of morbidities in the older HIV infected population may be exacerbated and driven by distinct mechanisms. In a cross sectional study of 45 HIV-infected participants 60 years or older, we examined the relationships between 14 immunomodulatory and inflammatory factors and the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) Index, a metric of multimorbidity and mortality comprised of age, CD4 count, hemoglobin, Fibrosis-4 [FIB-4], and estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], by linear regression analysis. All participants were virally suppressed (<50 HIV RNA copies/mL), on ART, and primarily Caucasian (86.7%), and male (91.1%). Plasma levels of monocyte/macrophage-associated (neopterin, IP-10, sCD163, sCD14, and MCP-1) and glycan-binding immunomodulatory factors (galectin (Gal)-1, Gal-3, and Gal-9) were assessed, as well as inflammatory biomarkers previously linked to the VACS Index (i.e., CRP, cystatin C, TNF-α, TNFRI, IL-6, and D-dimer) for comparison. In regression analysis, higher VACS index scores were associated with higher levels of neopterin, cystatin C, TNFRI, and Gal-9 (all p < 0.05), potentially driven by correlations found with individual VACS components, including age, CD4 count, FIB-4, and eGFR. Gal-9, cystatin C, and TNFRI directly correlated with the extent of multimorbidity. Multiple correlations among markers were observed, suggesting an interplay of overlapping, but distinct, pathways. Collectively, in addition to cystatin C and TNFRI, both galectin-9 and neopterin, independently emerged as novel fluid markers of the VACS Index and burden of comorbidity and may further guide in understanding pathogenic mechanisms of age-related disorders in older HIV-infected individuals on suppressive ART.

HIV-1 low-level viremia affects T cell activation rather than T cell development in school-age children, adolescents, and young adults during antiretroviral therapy

OBJECTIVES

Given the improvements in antiretroviral therapy (ART) in recent years, more pediatric HIV patients receiving ART are reaching adolescence and adulthood. This study investigated the influence of poor virological response (low-level viremia (LLV) and virological failure (VF)) on the immune system of these patients.

METHODS

HIV-infected, ART-experienced pediatric patients (n=206) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The patients were subdivided into school-age children/early adolescents, middle adolescents, and late adolescents/young adults according to their age, and further classified into virological suppression (VS), LLV, and VF groups according to plasma viral load (pVL) measurement. Thymic output, T cells subsets, and immune activation were analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Compared with VS patients, VF patients displayed decreased CD4⁺ T cell counts, while LLV and VS patients had comparable CD4⁺ T cell counts regardless of age. Compared with VS patients, LLV and VF patients had higher percentages of CD8⁺HLA-DR⁺ and CD8⁺CD38^high T cells, and the immune activation was positively correlated with pVL in VF and LLV patients. Thymic output levels (CD31⁺) and regulatory T cell subpopulations in LLV and VF patients were comparable to those in VS patients. LLV patients showed comparable percentages of T cell subsets (T_N, T_CM, T_EMRA, and T_EM) as VS patients in all age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

LLV causes excessive immune activation although it does not impair T cell recovery or naïve-to-memory T cell conversion in pediatric patients living with HIV. Therefore, T cell immune activation should be monitored at the management of LLV during ART.

Neopterin and CXCL-13 in Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Sleeping Sickness: Lessons from the Field in Angola

Human African Trypanosomiasis may become manageable in the next decade with fexinidazole. However, currently stage diagnosis remains difficult to implement in the field and requires a lumbar puncture. Our study of an Angolan cohort of T. b. gambiense-infected patients used other staging criteria than those recommended by the WHO. We compared WHO criteria (cell count and parasite identification in the CSF) with two biomarkers (neopterin and CXCL-13) which have proven potential to diagnose disease stage or relapse. Biological, clinical, and neurological data were analysed from a cohort of 83 patients. A neopterin concentration below 15.5 nmol/L in the CSF denoted patients with stage 1 disease, and a concentration above 60.31 nmol/L characterized patients with advanced stage 2 (trypanosomes in CSF and/or cytorachia higher than 20 cells) disease. CXCL-13 levels below 91.208 pg/mL denoted patients with stage 1 disease, and levels of CXCL-13 above 395.45 pg/mL denoted patients with advanced stage 2 disease. Values between these cut-offs may represent patients with intermediate stage disease. Our work supports the existence of an intermediate stage in HAT, and CXCL-13 and neopterin levels may help to characterize it.

CNS Persistence of HIV-1 in Children: the Untapped Reservoir

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The central nervous system (CNS) represents a potential HIV-1 reservoir that may need to be specifically targeted by remission strategies. Perinatally HIV-1-infected children and youth are exposed to HIV-1 at a critical period of brain development. This review summarizes the current literature regarding HIV-1 and the CNS in perinatal infection.

RECENT FINDINGS

HIV-1-associated encephalopathy is prevalent with perinatal infection and neurocognitive impairment persists even following antiretroviral treatment (ART)-mediated suppression of viremia. Compartmentalization of HIV-1 between plasma and CSF of ART-naïve, perinatally infected children suggests the presence of a CNS reservoir; however, similar studies have not yet been conducted with ART suppression. CSF viral escape where CSF and plasma virus concentrations are discordant has been reported in this population, but larger studies with well-defined virologic and immunologic parameters are needed. A better understanding of HIV-1 persistence in the CNS with perinatal infection is essential for improving long-term neurocognitive outcomes and for designing strategies to induce HIV-1 remission in this population.

Serum Neopterin in Differential Diagnosis of Bacterial Diarrhea in Pediatric Patients

Background: Neopterin, regarded as a marker of cellular immune activation, has been used in diagnosis of infection caused by intracellular pathogens. We have aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum neopterin (NPT) in acute bacterial diarrhea caused by group C enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPECs) and group D Salmonella spp.

Methods: Serum concentration of NPT was determined by ELISA. The study group included 47 children with diagnosis of bacterial diarrhea: 32 caused by group C enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPECs) and 15 by group D Salmonella spp. 105 healthy children constituted the control group.

Results: Serum concentration of NPT in children infected with group D Salmonella spp. turned out to be higher than in the other groups. The fraction of Salmonella-infected patients with serum neopterin above 11 nmol/l proved higher as compared to children with diarrhea caused by group C EPECs or to the healthy controls. The prevalence of a C-reactive protein (CRP) to NPT ratio of greater than 1 did not differ significantly between children with diarrhea of various etiology.

Conclusions: Neopterin can be used as a non-specific marker differentiating between bacterial diarrhea of various etiology.

Microbial (Enzymatic) Degradation of Cyanide to Produce Pterins as Cofactors

Cyanide is one of the most poisonous substances in the environment, which may have originated from natural and anthropogenic sources. There are many enzymes produced by microorganisms which can degrade and utilize cyanide. The major byproducts of cyanide degradation are alanine, glutamic acid, alpha-amino-butyric acid, beta-cyanoalanine, pterin etc. These products have many pharmaceutical and medicinal applications. For the degradation of cyanide, microbes produce necessary cofactors which catalyze the degradation pathways. Pterin is one of the cofactors for cyanide degradation. There are many pathways involved for the degradation of cyanide, cyanate, and thiocyanate. Some of the microorganisms possess resistance to cyanide, since they have developed adaptive alternative pathways for the production of ATP by utilization of cyanide as carbon and nitrogen sources. In this review, we summarized different enzymes, their mechanisms, and corresponding pathways for the degradation of cyanide and production of pterins during cyanide degradation. We aim to enlighten different types of pterin, its classification, and biological significance through this literature review.

Elevated serum neopterin and homocysteine increased the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with transient ischemic attack

Objective: To investigate the correlation between serum neopterin, homocysteine (Hcy) and the risk of developing ischemic stroke (IS) in patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Methods: Ninety-two TIA patients were prospectively recruited at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Medical College, Shihezi University, Xinjiang Autonomous Region China. Of the included patients, 27 developed ischemic stroke (IS group) and other 65 cases did not (TIA group). Peripheral venous blood was obtained within 24 hours of TIA diagnosis. Serum neopterin, Hcy and serum lipid levels were tested and compared between IS and TIA groups.

Results: Serum neopterin (6.38±1.76 ng/mL vs 5.39±1.51 ng/mL), Hcy (17.95±4.10 μmol/L vs 15.30±3.66 μmol/L), TG (1.82±0.92 mmol/L vs 1.40±0.71 mmol/L) and LDL (3.31±0.67 mmol/L vs 2.69±0.62 mmol/L) of IS group were significantly higher than those of TIA group (p<0.05). The AUC of serum neopterin, Hcy, TG and LDL for predicting the risk of developing IS in patients with TIA were 0.68 (95%CI: 0.55-0.81, 0.68 (95%CI: 0.57-0.80), 0.64 (95%CI: 0.51-0.78) and 0.75 (95%CI: 0.63-0.86), respectively.

Conclusion: Serum neopterin, Hcy, TG and LDL are promising serological markers for predicting the increased risk of developing IS for patients with TIA.

Elevated serum neopterin concentration increases mortality risk in patients with acute pancreatitis

Background The aim of this study was to investigate serum neopterin levels in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and its predictive value for mortality in cases of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).

Methods Eighty-two patients with confirmed acute pancreatitis (AP) were included and divided into two groups, mild acute pancreatitis (MAP, n=51) and severe acute pancreatitis (SAP, n=31) according to severity of disease. From the SAP group, 8 cases went on to develop multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and 6 subsequently died. Thirty healthy subjects from routine medical examination were included as the control group. The neopterin serum concentrations were determined and compared between groups.

Results Serum neopterin concentrations from control, MAP, SAP, SAP_Non-MODS, MODS_survival and MODS_death groups were 6.85±2.42 (nmol/L), 0.91±4.83(nmol/L), 33.11±11.67(nmol/L), 30.39±9.97(nmol/L), 36.40±4.48(nmol/L) and 41.75±15.64(nmol/L) respectively, with statistical significant difference (p<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity for mortality risk were 66.67% (95%CI:22.28-95.67%) and 88.00%(95%CI:68.78-97.45%) respectively, with area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.71(95%CI:0.50-0.9), under the cut off value of 40.18.

Conclusion: Serum neopterin levels in patients with acute pancreatitis were significantly elevated and correlated with the severity of disease. Neopterin may also be used a serological biomarker of mortality risk in patients with SAP.

The predictive value of serum neopterin for multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in severe burn patients

Objective To investigate the predictive value of serum neopterin for multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in severe burn patients. Methods Seventy-six severe burn patients with burns covering a total body surface area (TBSA) above 70% were included in this study. Of the 76 patients, 29 cases developed MODS (MODS group) and the remaining 47 subjects did not (non-MODS group). From the MODS group, 12 patients died (Death group) and 17 patients survived (Survive group). The serum level of neopterin in the MODS and non-MODS groups were examined by radioimmunoassay on following 1, 3 , 7 , 14 , 21 and 28 post-burn days (PBDs). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyse the predictive value of serum neopterin for MODS and death. Results The serum neopterin level in the MODS group was significantly higher than that of non-MODS group between 3~28 PBDs (p<0.001). However, the serum neopterin levels between the MODS and non-MODS groups following 1 PBD were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The best diagnostic performance of serum neopterin for MODS occurred 14 PBDs with the prediction sensitivity and specificity of 75.86% (56.46%~89.70%) and 85.11% (71.69%~93.80%) respectively. However, serum neopterin levels had no clinical value in predicting the death of MODS patients. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.72 (0.58~0.85), 0.81 (0.71~0.92) and 0.83 (0.72~0.94) for serum neopterin as biomarker in the prediction of MODS after 3, 7 and 14 PBDs, respectively. The AUCs were 0.50 (0.27~0.73), 0.53 (0.30~0.76) and 0.56 (0.33~0.79) for serum neopterin as biomarker in prediction of death for MODS patients after 3, 7 and 14 PBDs, respectively. Conclusion The persistent and significant increase of serum neopterin level is closely related to the development of MODS in patients with severe burns. Serum neopterin is therefore a promising serological marker for MODS early diagnosis, but has little efficacy in the prediction of the likelihood of death in severe burn patients with MODS.

Neopterin is associated with hippocampal subfield volumes and cognition in HIV

Objective

HIV infection sets off an immediate immune response and inflammatory cascade that can lead to neuronal injury and cognitive impairment, but the relationship between immune markers, regional brain volumes, and cognition remains understudied in HIV-infected adults.

Methods

Cross-sectional associations were examined between serum immune markers of activation (neopterin) and inflammation (interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and C-reactive protein) with regional brain volumes (cortical, subcortical, total gray matter, hippocampus, and subfields) and cognition in 66 HIV-infected, virally suppressed, adults who underwent 3.0-T MRI as part of the Research Core of the Rush Center of Excellence on Disparities in HIV and Aging. Immune markers were assayed from frozen plasma, values were entered into linear regression models as predictors of regional brain volumes, and interactive effects of immune response and regional brain volumes on cognition were examined.

Results

No inflammatory marker was associated with any regional brain volume. Higher neopterin level was associated with lower total hippocampal, presubiculum, and cornu ammonis (CA) subfield volumes. Higher neopterin level and lower total hippocampal volume were independently associated with lower episodic memory, and neopterin level fully mediated the effect of hippocampal atrophy on episodic memory. Higher neopterin levels were associated with lower presubiculum, CA1, and CA4/dentate volumes and lower semantic memory, working memory, and global cognition.

Conclusion

Immune activation in response to HIV infection, measured by neopterin, has a deleterious and targeted effect on regional brain structure, which can be visualized with clinically available MRI measures of hippocampus and its subfields, and this effect is associated with lower cognitive function.

Mass Spectrometric Identification of Urinary Biomarkers of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide. A major barrier to control of the pandemic is a lack of clinical biomarkers with the ability to distinguish active TB from healthy and sick controls and potential for development into point-of-care diagnostics.

Methods

We conducted a prospective case control study to identify candidate urine-based diagnostic biomarkers of active pulmonary TB (discovery cohort) and obtained a separate blinded “validation” cohort of confirmed cases of active pulmonary TB and controls with non-tuberculous pulmonary disease for validation. Clean-catch urine samples were collected and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography-coupled time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Results

We discovered ten molecules from the discovery cohort with receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) area-under-the-curve (AUC) values >85%. These 10 molecules also significantly decreased after 60 days of treatment in a subset of 20 participants followed over time. Of these, a specific combination of diacetylspermine, neopterin, sialic acid, and N-acetylhexosamine exhibited ROC AUCs >80% in a blinded validation cohort of participants with active TB and non-tuberculous pulmonary disease.

Conclusion

Urinary levels of diacetylspermine, neopterin, sialic acid, and N-acetylhexosamine distinguished patients with tuberculosis from healthy controls and patients with non-tuberculous pulmonary diseases, providing a potential noninvasive biosignature of active TB.

Funding

This study was funded by Weill Cornell Medicine, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Clinical and Translational Science Center at Weill Cornell, the NIH Fogarty International Center grants, and the NIH Tuberculosis Research Unit (Tri-I TBRU).

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Urinary levels of small metabolites appear capable of distinguishing cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis from sick and healthy controls.

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Levels of these biomarkers decrease after 60 days of treatment in a longitudinal cohort of 20 participants.

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- Many of the identified biomarkers are known inflammatory intermediates that may reflect a specific immune response to tuberculosis.

Urine tests are commonly used to enable non-invasive, rapid and point-of-care diagnosis of various infectious diseases. We identified diacetylspermine, neopterin, sialic acid and N-acetylhexosamine as potential urine-based biomarkers for tuberculosis from two independent patient cohorts. These metabolites are known inflammatory intermediates and appear to decrease with anti-tuberculosis therapy in a subset of participants followed over 2 months. If validated, these metabolites have potential to both improve our understanding of the immune reaction to active tuberculosis and facilitate the development of a much-needed clinical biomarker for tuberculosis.

Differential Relationships among Circulating Inflammatory and Immune Activation Biomediators and Impact of Aging and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in a Cohort of Injection Drug Users

As individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection live longer, aging and age-related chronic conditions have become major health concerns for this vulnerable population. Substantial evidence suggests that chronic inflammation and immune activation contribute significantly to chronic conditions in people aging with or without HIV infection. As a result, increasing numbers of inflammation and immune activation biomediators have been measured. While very few studies describe their in vivo relationships, such studies can serve as an important and necessary initial step toward delineating the complex network of chronic inflammation and immune activation. In this study, we evaluated in vivo relationships between serum levels of neopterin, a biomediator of immune activation, and four commonly described inflammatory biomediators: soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α receptor (sTNFR)-1, sTNFR-2, interleukin (IL)-6, and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as the impact of HIV infection and aging in the AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience (ALIVE) study, a community-recruited observational study of former and current injection drug users (IDUs) with or at high risk for HIV infection in Baltimore, MD, USA. The study included 1,178 participants in total with 316 HIV-infected (HV+) and 862 HIV-uninfected (HIV−) IDUs. Multivariate regression analyses were employed, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, hepatitis C virus co-infection, injection drug use, comorbidities, and HIV status (for all participants), and HIV viral load, CD4⁺ T-cell counts, and antiretroviral therapy (for HIV+ participants). The results showed significant impact of aging on all five biomediators and that of HIV infection on all but sTNFR-1. In the adjusted model, neopterin had positive associations with sTNFR-1 and sTNFR-2 (partial correlation coefficients: 0.269 and 0.422, respectively, for all participants; 0.292 and 0.354 for HIV+; and 0.262 and 0.435 for HIV−, all p < 0.0001). No significant associations between neopterin and IL-6 or CRP were identified. Such differential relationships between circulating neopterin and sTNFR-1, sTNFR-2, IL-6, and CRP may help inform their selection in future studies. These findings may also facilitate elucidation of underlying inflammatory and immune activation pathways that contribute to age-related chronic conditions, potentially leading to identification of key biomediators, particularly those upstream of CRP, as novel targets for intervention.

MIP-Based Sensors: Promising New Tools for Cancer Biomarker Determination

Detecting cancer disease at an early stage is one of the most important issues for increasing the survival rate of patients. Cancer biomarker detection helps to provide a diagnosis before the disease becomes incurable in later stages. Biomarkers can also be used to evaluate the progression of therapies and surgery treatments. In recent years, molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based sensors have been intensely investigated as promising analytical devices in several fields, including clinical analysis, offering desired portability, fast response, specificity, and low cost. The aim of this review is to provide readers with an overview on recent important achievements in MIP-based sensors coupled to various transducers (e.g., electrochemical, optical, and piezoelectric) for the determination of cancer biomarkers by selected publications from 2012 to 2016.

Neopterin as a marker for immune system activation in coal workers' pneumoconiosis

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is an occupational pulmonary disease that occurs by chronic inhalation of coal dust. Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is divided into two categories depending on the extent of the disease as simple pneumoconiosis (SP) and progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Development of CWP is associated with the activation of the immune system. Neopterin is a predictive biochemical marker of cell-mediated immune activation and elevated levels of neopterin are detected in body fluids of patients with immune-related diseases. The present study was aimed to investigate whether increased serum, urine and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid levels of neopterin is associated with the development and/or severity of CWP. Mean serum neopterin levels in SP and PMF patients (10.72 ± 0.98 nmol/L; 14.08 ± 3.86 nmol/L, respectively) were significantly higher than those of control group (5.30 ± 0.47nmol/L) ( P < 0.05). Although urinary neopterin levels were also increased in SP and PMF patients (235.17 ± 7.40 μmol/mol creatinine; 256.05 ± 9.43 μmol/mol creatinine, respectively) as compared with the control group (140.00 ± 5.43 μmol/mol creatinine) ( P < 0.01), they were within the normal concentration range. No significant difference was observed between serum and urinary neopterin levels of SP and PMF patients. A correlation was observed between serum and urinary neopterin levels of all subjects ( r = 0.525, P < 0.01). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients with SP and PMF (22.67 ± 2.9 nmol/L; 41.67 ± 8.68nmol/L, respectively) compared with control subjects (6.264 ± 1.74 nmol/L) ( P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). The levels of neopterin in BAL fluid were also significantly higher in patients with PMF than in those with SP ( P < 0.05). These findings indicate that elevated serum and BAL levels of neopterin may be considered as a suitable biomarker for the assessment of CWP. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2007; 23: 155—160.

Neopterin and Soluble CD14 Levels as Indicators of Immune Activation in Cases with Indeterminate Pattern and True Positive HIV-1 Infection

Background

We aimed to evaluate the roles of the plasma immune activation biomarkers neopterin and soluble CD14 (sCD14) in the indirect assessment of the immune activation status of patients with the indeterminate HIV-1 (IHIV-1) pattern and a true HIV-1-positive infection (PCG).

Methods

This cross-sectional and descriptive study included eighty-eight patients with the IHIV-1 pattern, 100 patients in the PCG, and 100 people in a healthy control group (HCG). Neopterin and sCD14 levels were determined by competitive and sandwich ELISA methods, respectively.

Results

Mean neopterin and sCD14 levels among those with the IHIV-1 pattern were significantly lower than among the PCG (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively), but they were similiar to those in the HCG (p = 0.57 and p = 0.66, respectively. Mean neopterin and sCD14 levels among the PCG were found to be significantly higher than among those with the IHIV-1 pattern (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively) and among those in the HCG (p = 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). Neopterin did not have adequate predictive value for identifying those in the PCG (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.534; 95% CI, 0.463–0.605; p = 0.4256); sCD14 also had poor predictive value but high specificity (100%) for identifying those in the PCG (AUC = 0.627; 95% CI, 0.556–0.694; p = 0.0036).

Conclusions

While low levels of these two biomarkers were detected among those with the IHIV-1 pattern, they were found in high levels among those in the PCG. These two markers obviously cannot be used as a sceening test because they have low sensitivies. Taken together, we suggest that neopterin and sCD14 may be helpful because they both have high specificity (92%-100%) as indirect non-specific markers for predicting the immune activation status of individuals, whether or not they have true positive HIV-1.

Plasma Levels of Neopterin and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in Tuberculosis (TB) with and without HIV Coinfection in Relation to CD4 Cell Count

Background

While the risk of TB is elevated in HIV-positive subjects with low CD4 cell counts, TB may in itself be associated with CD4 lymphocytopenia. We investigated markers of immune activation (neopterin) and inflammation (CRP) in TB patients with and without HIV coinfection and their association with CD4 cell levels, and determined their predictive capacity as alternative markers of advanced immunosuppression.

Methods

Participants selected from a cohort of adults with TB at Ethiopian health centers (195 HIV+/TB+, 170 HIV-/TB+) and 31 controls were tested for plasma levels of neopterin and CRP. Baseline levels of neopterin and CRP were correlated to CD4 cell count before and after anti-TB treatment (ATT). The performance to predict CD4 cell strata for both markers were investigated using receiver operating curves.

Results

Levels of both biomarkers were elevated in TB patients (neopterin: HIV+/TB+ 54 nmol/l, HIV-/TB+ 23 nmol/l, controls 3.8 nmol/l; CRP: HIV+/TB+ 36 μg/ml, HIV-/TB+ 33 μg/ml, controls 0.5 μg/ml). Neopterin levels were inversely correlated (-0.53, p<0.001) to CD4 cell count, whereas this correlation was weaker for CRP (-0.25, p<0.001). Neither of the markers had adequate predictive value for identification of subjects with CD4 cell count <100 cells/mm³ (area under the curve [AUC] 0.64 for neopterin, AUC 0.59 for CRP).

Conclusion

Neopterin levels were high in adults with TB, both with and without HIV coinfection, with inverse correlation to CD4 cell count. This suggests that immune activation may be involved in TB-related CD4 lymphocytopenia. However, neither neopterin nor CRP showed promise as alternative tests for immunosuppression in patients coinfected with HIV and TB.

A non-specific biomarker of disease activity in HIV/AIDS patients from resource-limited environments

BACKGROUND

A general non-specific marker of disease activity that could alert the clinician and prompt further investigation would be of value in patients with HIV/AIDS, especially in resource limited environments.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the potential of neopterin as non-specific biomarker in patients with advanced HIV/AIDS.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study in 105 HIV positive patients (75 on highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). Neopterin was assessed by enzyme linked immune-absorbent assay and cytokines by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Neopterin levels were significantly higher (p<0.001) for the total patient than for the control group. Significant correlations between neopterin and plasma indicators of inflammation showed neopterin to be a good indicator of active inflammatory status and of the effect of HAART on the immune system. Neopterin was superior to C-reactive protein and to individual cytokines as indicator of immune deficiency. Increased neopterin levels were associated with a decline in albumin, haemoglobin and the albumin/globulin ratio, and with increases in red cell distribution width.

CONCLUSIONS

Plasma neopterin is a good non-specific biomarker of disease activity in HIV/AIDS patients. It is a good indicator of inflammatory activity, perpetuation of inflammation-associated co-morbidities, degree of immune deficiency and has predictive value for underlying disease, and for monitoring the HAART response.

A prospective study of the immune system activation biomarker neopterin and colorectal cancer risk

BACKGROUND

Neopterin may be relevant for colorectal cancer (CRC) development, as a biomarker of cellular immune activity exerting pleiotropic effects on cellular ageing, oxidative stress, and inflammation. So far, the association between prediagnostic neopterin and colon and rectal cancer risk has not been evaluated in human populations.

METHODS

A nested case-control study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort using data on plasma concentrations of total neopterin (T-N, sum of neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin) in 830 incident CRC case patients (561 colon and 269 rectal) matched within risk sets to 830 control participants. A subsequent replication study used data from the Hordaland Health Study, where 173 CRC case patients have been diagnosed among 6594 healthy participants over 12 years of follow-up.

RESULTS

After multivariable adjustment for a priori chosen CRC risk factors, a "U-shaped" association of T-N with CRC was revealed. Compared with the second quintile of the T-N distribution, the relative risks for the first, third, fourth, and fifth quintiles were 2.37 (95% CI = 1.66 to 3.39), 1.24 (95% CI = 0.87 to 1.77), 1.55 (95% CI = 1.08 to 2.22), and 2.31 (95% CI = 1.63 to 3.27), respectively. Replication of these associations within the Hordaland Health Study yielded similar results. No differences have been observed when the associations were explored by colon and rectal cancer site (two-sided P difference = .87) and after excluding case patients diagnosed within the first four follow-up years.

CONCLUSIONS

These novel findings provide evidence of the role of both suppressed and activated cell-mediated immunity as reflected by prediagnostic T-N concentrations in the development of CRC.

ZnO oxide films for ultrasensitive, rapid, and label-free detection of neopterin by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Efficient and low-cost surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates based on Au coated zinc oxide layers for the detection of neopterin were prepared.

A sexual risk and stress reduction intervention designed for HIV-positive bisexual African American men with childhood sexual abuse histories

OBJECTIVES

HIV transmission risk is high among men who have sex with men and women (MSMW), and it is further heightened by a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and current traumatic stress or depression. Yet, traumatic stress is rarely addressed in HIV interventions. We tested a stress-focused sexual risk reduction intervention for African American MSMW with CSA histories.

METHODS

This randomized controlled trial compared a stress-focused sexual risk reduction intervention with a general health promotion intervention. Sexual risk behaviors, psychological symptoms, stress biomarkers (urinary cortisol and catecholamines), and neopterin (an indicator of HIV progression) were assessed at baseline and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups.

RESULTS

Both interventions decreased and sustained reductions in sexual risk and psychological symptoms. The stress-focused intervention was more efficacious than the general health promotion intervention in decreasing unprotected anal insertive sex and reducing depression symptoms. Despite randomization, baseline group differences in CSA severity, psychological symptoms, and biomarkers were found and linked to subsequent intervention outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Although interventions designed specifically for HIV-positive African American MSMW can lead to improvements in health outcomes, future research is needed to examine factors that influence intervention effects.

Cerebrospinal fluid HIV escape associated with progressive neurologic dysfunction in patients on antiretroviral therapy with well controlled plasma viral load

OBJECTIVE

To characterize HIV-infected patients with neurosymptomatic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 'escape', defined as detectable CSF HIV RNA in the setting of treatment-suppressed plasma levels or CSF RNA more than 1-log higher than plasma RNA.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

SETTING

Four urban medical centers in the United States and Europe.

PARTICIPANTS

Virologically controlled HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with progressive neurologic abnormalities who were determined to have CSF 'escape'. INTERVENTION Optimization of ART based upon drug susceptibility and presumed central nervous system exposure.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Levels of CSF HIV RNA and inflammatory markers, clinical signs and symptoms, and MRI findings.

RESULTS

Ten patients presented with new neurologic abnormalities, which included sensory, motor, and cognitive manifestations. Median CSF HIV RNA was 3900 copies/ml (range 134-9056), whereas median plasma HIV RNA was 62 copies/ml (range <50 to 380). Median CD4 T-cell count was 482 cells/μl (range 290-660). All patients had been controlled to less than 500 copies/ml for median 27.5 months (range 2-96) and five of 10 had been suppressed to less than 50 copies/ml for median 19.5 months (range 2-96). Patients had documentation of a stable ART regimen for median 21 months (range 9-60). All had CSF pleocytosis or elevated CSF protein; seven of eight had abnormalities on MRI; and six of seven harbored CSF resistance mutations. Following optimization of ART, eight of nine patients improved clinically.

CONCLUSION

The development of neurologic symptoms in patients on ART with low or undetectable plasma HIV levels may be an indication of CSF 'escape'. This study adds to a growing body of literature regarding this rare condition in well controlled HIV infection.

Determination of serum neopterin levels in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases

An elevated serum level of neopterin indicates the activation of the cellular immune system. Aim: The objective was to find a correlation in autoimmune thyroid patients between neopterin levels and the clinical stage of the disease and to examine whether neopterin can predict the relapse of the disease. Methods: Serum neopterin, thyroid stimulating hormone, free thyroxine, free triiodothyronine, anti-thyroglobulin and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody levels were determined in 137 patients with Graves’ disease (in different stages), 25 with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and 14 with toxic adenoma. Results: The neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients with Graves’ disease (hyper-, eu-, hypothyroidism and relapsed hyperthyroidism) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Positive correlation was found between neopterin and anti-thyroglobulin and anti-tyhroid peroxidase antibody levels, but no correlation was detected between neopterin levels and thyroid hormones, thyroid stimulating hormone values and antibodies against thyroid stimulating hormone receptors. Conclusions: Higher level of serum neopterin reflects an underlying autoimmune process, and does not correlate with changes in thyroid hormone levels. Determination of neopterin level can be an important indicator in the exacerbation of autoimmune processes. Orv. Hetil., 2012, 153, 1127–1131.

Using novel methods to examine stress among HIV-positive African American men who have sex with men and women

Biomarker composites (BCs) that objectively quantify psychosocial stress independent of self report could help to identify those at greatest risk for negative health outcomes and elucidate mechanisms of stress-related processes. Here, BCs are examined in the context of existing disease progression among HIV-positive African American men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) with high stress histories, including childhood sexual abuse. Participants (N = 99) collected 12-h overnight and morning urine samples for assay of cortisol and catecholamines (primary BC) and neopterin (an indicator of HIV disease progression). Data on cumulative psychosocial trauma history (severity, types, frequency, age at first incident), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, sexual risk behaviors, and a secondary BC consisting of routine health indicators (heart rate, blood pressure, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio) were also collected. Lifetime trauma exposure was highly pervasive and significantly greater among those meeting a standard cutoff for PTSD caseness (24 %). After controlling for HIV factors (neopterin levels and years with disease), PTSD was a significant (p < .05) predictor of the primary, but not secondary BC. Those with PTSD also had significantly more sexual partners, sex without a condom, and exchange sex for money or drugs than those without PTSD. Specific trauma characteristics predicted PTSD severity and caseness independently and uniquely in regression models (p's < .05-.001). A primary BC appears sensitive to cumulative trauma burden and PTSD in HIV-positive African American MSMW, providing support for the use of BCs to quantify psychosocial stress and inform novel methods for examining mechanisms of stress influenced health behaviors and disease outcomes in at-risk populations.

The cerebrospinal fluid proteome in HIV infection: change associated with disease severity

BACKGROUND

Central nervous system (CNS) infection is a nearly universal feature of untreated systemic HIV infection with a clinical spectrum that ranges from chronic asymptomatic infection to severe cognitive and motor dysfunction. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has played an important part in defining the character of this evolving infection and response to treatment. To further characterize CNS HIV infection and its effects, we applied advanced high-throughput proteomic methods to CSF to identify novel proteins and their changes with disease progression and treatment.

RESULTS

After establishing an accurate mass and time (AMT) tag database containing 23,141 AMT tags for CSF peptides, we analyzed 91 CSF samples by LC-MS from 12 HIV-uninfected and 14 HIV-infected subjects studied in the context of initiation of antiretroviral therapy and correlated abundances of identified proteins a) within and between subjects, b) with all other proteins across the entire sample set, and c) with "external" CSF biomarkers of infection (HIV RNA), immune activation (neopterin) and neural injury (neurofilament light chain protein, NFL). We identified a mean of 2,333 +/- 328 (SD) peptides covering 307 +/-16 proteins in the 91 CSF sample set. Protein abundances differed both between and within subjects sampled at different time points and readily separated those with and without HIV infection. Proteins also showed inter-correlations across the sample set that were associated with biologically relevant dynamic processes. One-hundred and fifty proteins showed correlations with the external biomarkers. For example, using a threshold of cross correlation coefficient (Pearson's) ≤ -0.3 and ≥0.3 for potentially meaningful relationships, a total of 99 proteins correlated with CSF neopterin (43 negative and 56 positive correlations) and related principally to neuronal plasticity and survival and to innate immunity. Pathway analysis defined several networks connecting the identified proteins, including one with amyloid precursor protein as a central node.

CONCLUSIONS

Advanced CSF proteomic analysis enabled the identification of an array of novel protein changes across the spectrum of CNS HIV infection and disease. This initial analysis clearly demonstrated the value of contemporary state-of-the-art proteomic CSF analysis as a discovery tool in HIV infection with likely similar application to other neurological inflammatory and degenerative diseases.

Raltegravir treatment intensification does not alter cerebrospinal fluid HIV-1 infection or immunoactivation in subjects on suppressive therapy

BACKGROUND

Despite suppression of plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA by antiretroviral therapy to levels below clinical assay detection, infection and immune activation may persist within the central nervous system and possibly lead to continued brain injury. We hypothesized that intensifying therapy would decrease cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) infection and immune activation.

METHODS

This was a 12-week, randomized, open-label pilot study comparing addition of the integrase inhibitor raltegravir to no treatment augmentation, with an option for rollover to raltegravir. CSF and plasma were analyzed for HIV-1 RNA using a single-copy assay. CSF and blood immune activation was assessed by neopterin concentrations and CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell surface antigen expression.

RESULTS

Primary analysis compared 14 intensified (including rollovers) to 9 nonintensified subject experiences. Median HIV-1 RNA levels in all samples were lower in CSF (<.3 copies/mL) than in plasma (<.9 copies/mL; P < .0001), and raltegravir did not reduce HIV-1 RNA, CSF neopterin, or CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell activation.

CONCLUSIONS

Raltegravir intensification did not reduce intrathecal immunoactivation or alter CSF HIV-1 RNA levels in subjects with baseline viral suppression. With and without raltegravir intensification, HIV RNA levels in CSF were very low in the enrolled subjects. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT00672932.

Minocycline fails to modulate cerebrospinal fluid HIV infection or immune activation in chronic untreated HIV-1 infection: results of a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Minocycline is a tetracycline antibiotic that has been shown to attenuate central nervous system (CNS) lentivirus infection, immune activation, and brain injury in model systems. To initiate assessment of minocycline as an adjuvant therapy in human CNS HIV infection, we conducted an open-labelled pilot study of its effects on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood biomarkers of infection and immune responses in 7 viremic subjects not taking antiretroviral therapy.

RESULTS

There were no discernable effects of minocycline on CSF or blood HIV-1 RNA, or biomarkers of immune activation and inflammation including: CSF and blood neopterin, CSF CCL2, CSF white blood cell count, and expression of cell-surface activation markers on CSF and blood T lymphocytes and monocytes.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study of biological responses to minocycline suggests little potential for its use as adjunctive antiviral or immunomodulating therapy in chronic untreated HIV infection.

Food preservatives sodium benzoate and propionic acid and colorant curcumin suppress Th1-type immune response in vitro

Food preservatives sodium benzoate and propionic acid and colorant curcumin are demonstrated to suppress in a dose-dependent manner Th1-type immune response in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in vitro. Results show an anti-inflammatory property of compounds which however could shift the Th1-Th2-type immune balance towards Th2-type immunity.