Increased Fecal Neopterin Parallels Gastrointestinal Symptoms in COVID-19
Open Access
- 1 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology
- Vol. 12 (1), e00293
- https://doi.org/10.14309/ctg.0000000000000293
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread from Wuhan, China, and become a worldwide pandemic. Most patients display respiratory symptoms but up to 50% report gastrointestinal symptoms. Neopterin is a surrogate marker for viral inflammation, and its production by macrophages is driven by interferon-γ. METHODS: We measured fecal neopterin in 37 hospitalized COVID-19 patients not requiring intensive care measures and 22 healthy controls. RESULTS: Fecal neopterin was elevated in stool samples from COVID-19 patients compared with that in samples from healthy controls. Especially, patients reporting gastrointestinal symptoms exhibited increased fecal neopterin values. DISCUSSION: COVID-19 is associated with an inflammatory immune response in the gastrointestinal tract.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Manifestations of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease in a Large Cohort of Infected Patients From New York: Clinical ImplicationsGastroenterology, 2020
- SARS-CoV-2 productively infects human gut enterocytesScience, 2020
- AGA Institute Rapid Review of the Gastrointestinal and Liver Manifestations of COVID-19, Meta-Analysis of International Data, and Recommendations for the Consultative Management of Patients with COVID-19Gastroenterology, 2020
- Faecal calprotectin indicates intestinal inflammation in COVID-19Gut, 2020
- Gastrointestinal symptoms of 95 cases with SARS-CoV-2 infectionGut, 2020
- Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, ChinaJAMA, 2020
- Characteristics of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection and potential evidence for persistent fecal viral sheddingNature Medicine, 2020
- Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort studyThe Lancet, 2020
- Faecal calprotectin as a diagnostic marker of inflammatory bowel disease in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms: meta-analysisEuropean Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 2019
- Immune response-associated production of neopterin. Release from macrophages primarily under control of interferon-gamma.The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1984