Picolinic Acid in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection: A Preliminary Report

Abstract EN

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.