Measurement of neopterin concentrations in body fluids like
blood serum,
cerebrospinal fluid or
urine provides information about activation of cellular immune activation in humans under the control of
T helper cells type 1. High neopterin production is associated with increased production of
reactive oxygen species, neopterin concentrations also allow to estimate the extent of
oxidative stress elicited by the
immune system. Increased neopterin production is found in, but not limited to, the following diseases: •
Viral infections including
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
hepatitis B and
hepatitis C,
SARS-CoV-1,
SARS-CoV-2. •
Bacterial infections by intracellular living
bacteria such as
Borrelia (
Lyme disease),
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and
Helicobacter pylori. •
parasites such as
Plasmodium (
malaria) •
Autoimmune diseases such as
rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) •
Malignant tumor diseases •
Allograft rejection episodes. • A
leukodystrophy called
Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome •
Depression and somatization. Neopterin concentrations usually correlate with the extent and activity of the disease, and are also useful to monitor during therapy in these patients. Elevated neopterin concentrations are among the best predictors of adverse outcome in patients with HIV infection, in cardiovascular disease and in various types of cancer. In the laboratory it is measured by
radioimmunoassay (RIA),
ELISA, or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It has a native
fluorescence of wavelength excitation at 353 nm and emission at 438 nm, rendering it readily detected. ==References==