BACKGROUND: Neopterin is released from monocytes/macrophages specifically by stimulation with interferon-γ. Therefore the increase refers to the activation of T lymphocytes. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the potential role of neopterin in the cell mediated immune response to Behçet's disease. METHODS: We studied 67 patients of Behçet's disease classified by Shimizu and a control group of 30 normal healthy people. Serum neopterin was detected by radioimmunoassay technique. RESULTS: The serum neopterin concentration of the group with Behçet's disease was significantly elevated, compared with the control group (6.36 nmol/ml vs 3.63 nmol/ml). The increase of neopterin concentration was well correlated to the clinical severity of the diseases in increasing order. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the T lymphocyte derived IFN-γ which stimulates the production of neopterin has some role in the pathogenesis and clinical severity of Behçet's disease.
Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; Lymphocytes ; Neopterin* ; Radioimmunoassay ; T-Lymphocytes

OBJECTIVES: Periodontitis is a common chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the destruction of the supporting structures of the teeth. The stages of menopause also worsen inflammatory condition. Biomarkers from biological fluids can be used as a diagnostic indicator to correlate these two conditions of present and future disease activity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neopterin levels in three biological fluids obtained from pre- and postmenopausal women with periodontitis following non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT, that is, scaling).METHODS: This was a cross-sectional interventional study. Thirty women, aged 40–60 years, with periodontitis were selected according to their menstrual history. They were divided into the pre- and postmenopausal groups, with each group including 15 participants. The neopterin levels were measured in both groups at baseline and 3 months after NSPT. Intergroup comparison and percentage decrement analysis were performed using the independent sample t test, and intragroup comparison was performed using the paired t test.RESULTS: There were statistically significant reductions in the mean values of saliva, urine, and plasma from baseline to 3 months after NSPT in the groups. Intergroup comparison showed no significant values in the postmenopausal group, and a significant reduction was seen in the mean values was seen in the mean values.CONCLUSIONS: Neopterin levels decreased at 3 months after NSPT in both the groups, suggesting that NSPT can be a gold standard therapy and that the neopterin level could be a indicator to identify periodontal destruction.
Biomarkers ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Menopause ; Neopterin ; Periodontitis ; Plasma ; Saliva ; Tooth

Cell-mediated immunity frequently becomes impaired after major trauma. To investigate the immune response of the head injury, the authors measured the level of the serum neopterin, which represents the index of macrophage activation, in 53 head-injured patients. In the injured group the serum neopterin level was 5.4+/-3.1 nmol/l and slightly higher than that of the normal control group, 4.4+/-1.0 nmol/1. In the group of the patients with the Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS) 3-9, the level was significantly higher than the group GCS 10-15. The differences were not significantly related to the age or the presence of intracranial hematoma. It is conceivable that head injury will change the patient's immune response and it may be influenced by neural control.
Coma ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Head* ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Macrophage Activation ; Neopterin*

Tetrahydrobiopterin(BH4) deficiency is a rare type of hyperphenylalaninemia and usually leads to a progressive neurologic deterioration despite early dietary control of blood phenylalanine concentration. We experienced two cases of BH4 deficiency in brother and sister, confirmed by biochemical study of blood and urine. They had suffered from a progressive neurologic illness such as mental retardation, severe hypotonia, seizure, and athetotic movements started at 3 months of their age. Blood amino-acid analysis showed mild hyperphenylalaninemia with elevated urinary neopterin, and reduced urinary biopterin. Their neurologic deteriorations were dramatically improved after replacement of BH4 and dopamine agonist.
Biopterin ; Dopamine Agonists ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Neopterin ; Phenylalanine ; Phenylketonurias* ; Seizures ; Siblings

Segawa disease, hereditary progressive dystonia with marked diurnal fluctuations or defined dopa-responsive dystonia has age-dependent clinical courses, which are characterized with marked progression in the first one and half decades, its subsiding in the third decade and almost stationary courses after the fourth decade. Also, it has characteristic diurnally fluctuating symptoms, aggravated towards the evening and alleviated after sleep. This autosomally dominantly inherited dystonia is caused by abnormalities of the gene of GTP cyclohydrolase I. The heterozygotic gene's abnormality induces partial decrement of tetrahydrobiopterin and affects synthesis of tyrosine hydroxylase(TH) rather selectively. The reduction of TH induces decrement of dopamine and disfacilitates the D1 receptor-striatal direct pathway. The pathognomonic finding in biochemical examination is the decrease of neopterin in the cerebrospinal fluid(CSF). Levodopa, by replacing dopamine contents at the terminal, alleviates motor symptoms completely and the effects sustain without any side effects. We experienced a girl diagnosed as Segawa disease with typical clinical courses and a decrease of neopterin in the CSF.
Dopamine ; Dystonia* ; Female ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; GTP Cyclohydrolase ; Humans ; Levodopa ; Neopterin ; Tyrosine

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of anesthetic techniques used during general anesthesia (GA) and spinal anesthesia (SA) on endothelial adhesion molecules in the fetal circulation of healthy parturients undergoing elective cesarean section. METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to either the general anesthesia (n = 20) or spinal anesthesia (n = 20) group. Maternal and cord blood neopterin, sE-selectin, and sL-selectin levels were measured in both groups. RESULTS: Cord blood neopterin concentrations in the SA group were not different from those in the GA group, but maternal neopterin levels in the SA group were different from those in the GA group. Maternal blood levels of sE-selectin and sL-selectin were not different between the two groups. Similarly, the cord blood levels of sE-selectin and sL-selectin were not different between the two groups. We found an increased inflammatory process in the fetal circulation depending on the anesthetic method used. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the effects of general and spinal anesthetic techniques on serum sL-selectin, sE-selectin, and neopterin levels in neonates and parturients undergoing elective cesarean section. sE-selectin and neopterin concentrations and leukocyte counts were higher in the fetal circulation than in the maternal circulation during both GA and SA.
Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Spinal ; Cesarean Section* ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukocyte Count ; Neopterin ; Pregnancy

In lepromatous leprosy, it is generally believed that there is not only defective CMl specific for M. leprae, but also generalized impairment of CMI and in erythema nodosum leprosum, an immune complex-mediated pathogenesis as well cell mediated immune pathogenesis have been proposed. Neopterin is a pyrazinopyrirnidine compound derived from GTP, its raised excretion has been related to activation of T-lymphocyte/macrophage axis. A study was performed to evaluate generalized CMI status in the LL and ENL and to investigate a relationship between levels of urinary neopterin and disease activity. Urinary neopterin was measured by high pressure liquid chromatography in 25 healthy subjects, in 25 patients with LL and in 25 patients with ENL. The results were as follaws 1. Urinary Neopterin levels of patients with LL was 188.9+147.3umol/mol creatinine, which was higher than that of control group(144.8+40.4umol/mol creatinine)(p<0.01). 2. Urinary Neopterin levels of patients with ENL was 884.1+970.5umol/mol creatinine, which was higher than of control group, and patients with LL(p<0.01, p<0.01). 3. Serial measurement of urinary neopterin from 1 week to 13 weeks after treatment of ENL in 4 cases of ENL showed good correlation between urinary neopterin levels and disease activity. In summary, it thus appears that measurement of urine neopterin in leprosy provides generalized CMI status and reliable index for activity of disease.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Creatinine ; Erythema Nodosum* ; Erythema* ; Guanosine Triphosphate ; Humans ; Leprosy ; Leprosy, Lepromatous* ; Neopterin*

To investigate the cellular immune response in myasthenia gravis (MG), serum levels of interleukin-2(IL-2), soluble IL-2 receptor(sIL-2R) and neopterin were measured in 48 patients with MG, and these levels were compared with those in 22 healthy controls Also, the relationship of serum levels of IL-2. sIL-2R and neopterin to disease severity and thymic histology, and the changes of above laboratory indexes were observed according to thymectomy. Serum IL-2 was not detected in controls. But was detected in 56% of MG patients. Mean levels of serum sIL-2R were significantly increased in MG patients compared with controls (p<0.01), and mean levels of serum neopterin were increased, but not statistically significant in MG patients compared with controls. Mean levels of serum sIL-2R were significantly increased in the groups of grade IIB and m compared with the groups of grade I and IIA(p<0.01) Among 20 thymectomized MG patients, mean levels of serum sIL-2R were significantly increased in patients with thymoma compared with those with involuted thymus(p<0.05). In the follow-up study of serum levels of IL-2, slL-2R and neopterin after thymectomy, the detection rate of serum IL-2 was significantly decreased in patients more than 1 year after thymectomy compared with those before thymectomy (P<0.05), and mean levels of serum sIL-2R and neopterin were significantly decreased in patients more than 1 year after thymectomy compared with those before thymectomy (P< 0.01, p<0.05). These decrements reflected the clinical improvement. These results suggest that the cellular immune responses with T cell and macrophage activation are relevant to the pathogenesis of MG. Serum sIL-2R level is correlated with disease severity, and serum IL-2, sIL-2R and neoptrin levels may represent markers of disease activity after thymectomy.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Interleukin-2 ; Macrophage Activation ; Myasthenia Gravis* ; Neopterin ; Thymectomy ; Thymoma

PURPOSE:Neopterin is a marker of activation of the T-lymphocyte/monocyte axis. We measured serum neopterin concentration to investigate whether serum neopterin levels are increased in children with Graves' disease and whether serum neopterin measurement can be used as a marker of disease activity in Graves disease. METHODS:Twenty children with Graves' disease(3 boys and 17 girls) and 15 healthy children(7 boys and 8 girls) are enrolled in this study. Serum neopterin concentrations are measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS:Neopterin concentration in children with Graves' disease(1.59+/-1.25ng/ml) is not higher than that of healthy children(1.51+/-0.73ng/ml). Neopterin concentration is not influenced by thyroid function and remission state. CONCLUSION: Serum neopterin level in children with Graves' disease can not be used as a marker of activity.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Child* ; Graves Disease* ; Humans ; Neopterin* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Thyroid Gland

BACKGROUND: Many physiologic, pharmacologic and immunologic abnormalities were reported in atopic dermatitis but the cause and pathogenesis of the disease remain obscure. OBJECTIVE: This study was done to investigate the systemic immunologic abnormalities in atopic dermatitis. METHOD: To evaluate the cell mediated immunity, me quantified pei ipheral blood T lymphocytes and their subsets, using flow cytometery, and assessed plasma neopteiin levels by means of radioimmunoassay. To evaluate the abnormal humoral immunity, we assessed the serum IgE levels by means of enzyme-immunoassay. RESULTS: Mean proportions of peripheral blood T lymphocytes and, heir subsets in atopic Dermatitis patients were within normal limits. Hut the suppvessor/cytotoxic T lyrphocytes(T8) were significantly decreased in the group of se"ere atopic dermatitis compared with the group of mild atopic dermatitis(P<0.05). Plasma neopterin lervels in the group of atopic dermatitis were found to be significantly elevated as compared vith the control group(P<0.01), but no significant cifference was found between the mild and severe group of atcpic dermatitis(P>0.05). Mean serum IgE levels in the patients with atopic dermatitis were higher than reference value. But there was no significant difference between the mild and severe atopic dermatitis group. Serum IgE levels ivere negatiiely correlated with T8(r=-0.3774, P<0.05) and positively with T4/T8 ratio(r =0.5007, P<0.05). Conclusions : These data;uggest that the atopic der matitis has abr ormalities in cell mediated immunity as well as elevated IgE level.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunity, Humoral ; Immunoglobulin E ; Neopterin* ; Plasma* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Reference Values ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets* ; T-Lymphocytes