Picolinic acid in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection: a preliminary report.
Macrophage activation seems to be a feature of chronic liver diseases. Picolinic acid (PA) as a macrophage secondary signal causes the activation of interferon-gamma- (IFN-γ-) prime macrophage and triggers cytokine-driven inflammatory reactions. The rationale for seeking increased PA formation in chronic viral hepatitis is based on the involvement of activated macrophages in chronic viral hepatitis-associated inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine serum PA levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection, taking into account the presence of diabetes. We assessed PA and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) as a marker of inflammation in 51 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC), both with and without diabetes and 40 controls. Compared with the controls, the patients with CHC showed a significant increase in plasma concentrations of PA and hsCRP (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, resp.). The values of PA and hsCRP were more elevated in patients with diabetes than without diabetes (both P < 0.01). The positive relationships were between PA and hsCRP levels (P < 0.05) and the presence of diabetes (P < 0.001). We documented that significant elevation in serum PA levels is associated with diabetes prevalence and increased inflammatory response reflected in hsCRP levels in CHC patients.
Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland. jagiellodr@interia.pl
Jolanta
J
Zuwała-Jagiello
Monika
M
Pazgan-Simon
Krzysztof
K
Simon
Maria
M
Warwas
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010848:Picolinic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
D010848:Picolinic Acids; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; C030614:picolinic acid