Association between Urinary Zinc and Neopterin Excretion: A Manifestation of the Acute Phase Response in the Kidney?
Summary An elevation in urinary neopterin excretion is established to be a sensitive index of immune system activation in various disorders. In many of these conditions, a simultaneous increase in urine zinc output is observed, but this phenomenon remains largely unexplained. In previous studies in patients with different diseases, a significant correlation between urine zinc and neopterin was demonstrated. This suggests that the immune system may be involved in inducing an augmentation in urine zinc loss. As both zinc and neopterin are now known to influence oxidative processes, and lipid peroxidation has been demonstrated 10 play an important role in renal pathology, a protective role of the increase in urine zinc and neopterin, which might represent a manifestation of the acute phase reaction in the kidney, is discussed.