Previous studies have indicated that neopterin is synthesized in vitro by human monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells upon stimulation with gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). Neopterin production under specific conditions in vitro has also been obtained upon stimulation with IFN-alpha and/or IFN-beta. However, it is unknown if any IFN-gamma-independent neopterin synthesis is possible in v...

BACKGROUND Little information exists regarding the prognostic role of biomarkers of inflammation in Mediterranean patients. High C-reactive protein and neopterin levels - a marker of macrophage activation - predict cardiovascular events in stable angina patients and patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We sought to assess whether plasma neopterin levels predict adverse clinical outcome...

Neopterin is a pyrazino-pyrimidine compound, and is known to be a marker associated with cell-mediated immunity in various diseases. We hypothesized that the levels of serum and urine neopterin would be elevated in renal disease, and would correlate with certain clinical parameters. We evaluated serum and urinary neopterin levels in patients with several renal diseases, including nephrotic synd...

BACKGROUND The role of neopterin as a marker of cell-mediated immunity for immunological monitoring after transplantation is of great potential interest. Neopterin levels among hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive recipients of living-donor renal transplantation (LDRT) have not been previously described. METHODS Twenty-two HCV-positive (group I) and 10 HCV-negative (group II) recipients of LDRT w...

Background: Carotid Artery Stenosis (CAS) is one of the major high-risk mechanisms of stroke. Neopterin, an immune modulator secreted by macrophages, have been reported to be elevated in patients with cerebrovascular disease. However, an association between serum neopterin level and CAS has not been firmly established. Objective: To investigate the cross-sectional relationship between serum neo...

authors of several studies have observed increased intraalveolar cytokine production (19) or increased CD4ϩ T lymphocytes in smokers (20). A suppressive effect of tobacco smoke on the human immune system has also been reported (21), which could explain the lower neop-terin production of smokers in our study. We noted a correlation between neopterin concentrations and diastolic blood pressure va...

Determination of neopterin in urine, plasma, and serum is increasingly used in transplantation medicineas a sensitivemarker ofimmunologicalcomplications(forreviews,see 1-3). In a recent Technical Brief, Myara et al. (4) made a significant and important contribution to these issues; showing that, in recipients of heart allografts, simultaneous determination of concentrations of neopterin and of ...

Biological processes which might explain the association of pteridine excretion with proliferation are still unknown. Difficulties in the analysis and the determination of naturally occurring pteridines are described. The best quantitative estimations were achieved when measurement of non-reduced forms was attempted. The performance characteristics of such a method for neopterin by high perform...

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 o...

Neopterin measurements are especially useful as an early marker in (e.g.) allograft rejections and in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). An increased concentration of total neopterins (neopterin + dihydroneopterin) is also a significant marker in patients with HIV-1 infection. In this study we compared concentrations of neopterin and total neopterins in urine sa...