Estimation of serum neopterin level as an early marker for detecting severe dengue infection

Abstract

BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the role of neopterin in the early assessment of dengue severity in children of age one month to 18 years admitted for fever and confirmed by dengue serology.MethodTwo sets of samples were collected from 77 confirmed dengue patients aged one month to 18 years for serum neopterin determination. The first sample was collected at 2-3 days of fever onset, and the second sample was collected at 24–36 h after the first sample was collected and followed up cases and correlated serum neopterin levels.ResultsAmong the 77 patients enrolled, 19 were diagnosed with severe dengue, 15 patients as having dengue with warning signs, and 43 patients as having dengue fever.ConclusionIn this study, we found that the serum neopterin levels were significantly higher in the severe dengue category (mean: 58.75(±4.91) nmol/l) than in the non-severe dengue category (mean: 48.11(±8.80) nmol/l). Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between neopterin concentration and duration of fever hence, higher serum neopterin levels may indicate dengue severity. The determination of serum neopterin concentration may be used for the early assessment of severe dengue.

Theoretical determination of two-photon absorption in biologically relevant pterin derivatives

“…9 Biopterin (BPT) has been found taking the role of a coenzyme in hydroxylation reactions in the metabolism of both amino acids and nitric oxide 10,11 while neopterin (NPT), a BPT metabolite, is synthesised predominantly in activated macrophages with high levels of NPT found in response to infections caused by viruses, parasites and intracellular bacteria. [12][13][14][15][16][17] Despite the role of 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolylpolyglutamate, a derivative of folic acid (FA), in DNA repair as a light-harvesting antenna in DNA photolyases, [18][19][20] oxidised pterins have also been shown to cause photo-activated DNA damage when exposed to UV light. [21][22][23][24][25] The ability of pterins to produce singlet oxygen (O 2 ( 1 Δ g ), denoted as 1 O 2 for simplicity) 26,27 has garnered particular interest due to its role in photodynamic therapy (PDT).…”

Neopterin and CXCL-10 in Cerebrospinal Fluid as Potential Biomarkers of Neuroinvasive Dengue and Chikungunya

“…The cases of severe dengue had a higher concentration of this biomarker than cases of the mild form of the disease. Its levels increased in infections and decreased after recovery [16,28,29]. This high concentration of neopterin may be associated with an occurrence of more severe inflammation in patients with dengue and chikungunya [16,28,30].…”