Changes of Serum Neopterin and Elastase - alpha1 - Antitrypsin

Kim, Ho Joon; Chung, Sang Lip; Kim, Jung Chul; Kim, Moon Kyu

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Generalized immune aetivation occurs early in the course of many infectious diseases. Clinical investigations have known that immune activation can be qiantified by the measurement of soluble immune activation products, neopterin and elastase-a-antitypsm in serum.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess macrophage and neutrophil activation in patient with leprosy by measurement of neopterin and elhstase-a-antitrypin.
METHODS
The study population consisted of 31 patients with subculoid leprosy and 71 patients with lepromatous leprosy (39 cases of M. leprae positive patients and 32 cases of M. leprce negative patients). Serum samples and clinical and laboratory data were collected form each patient and control. The levels of serum neopterin and elastase-a-antitrypsin were masured by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay.
RESULTS
The serum neopterin levels were significantly raised in patients with leprosy and significantly higher in lepromatous leprosy than tuberculoid leprosy. The sejum elastase-a-antitrypsin levels were significantly increased in pat,ients with leprosy, but did not vary significantly between tuberculoid and lepramatous leprosy. There was also no significant correlation between the neopterin and elastase-a-antitrypsin levels and bacterial index in patients with lepromatous prosy.
CONCLUSION
These data suggest that non-specific activation of macrophages and neutrophiles occurs in leprosy and high titers of ineopterin and elastase-a-antitrypsin alore, in the absenee of a functioning T cell response, do not appee,r to confer resistance against Mycobacterium leprae.