title: Increased neopterin levels in brains of patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection.
abstract: Postmortem levels of native neopterin (D-erythro-neopterin) were measured in cerebral cortical samples from 44 human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected and eight uninfected, nonneurological control patients. Cerebral cortical gray and white matter neopterin levels for the controls ranged from 0.5 to 7.2 pmol/mg of protein in contrast to neopterin levels in brains of the virus-infected patients, which frequently were more than threefold and occasionally more than 30-fold higher than mean control levels. Cortical neopterin levels did not correlate with severity of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome dementia complex, but subcortical levels correlated with the presence of active human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection, as reflected by pathological evidence of multinucleated giant cell encephalitis. Evidence of opportunistic cytomegalovirus infections in approximately 25% of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected patients was associated with enhanced levels of neopterin in frontal cortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455-0323.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Shaskan
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Brew
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenblum
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D001708:Biopterins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019798:Neopterin; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D012016:Reference Values; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D001708:Biopterins; D019798:Neopterin