Serum adenosine deaminase enzyme and plasma platelet factor 4 activities in active pulmonary tuberculosis, HIV-seropositive subjects and cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to determine the serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) and plasma platelet factor (PF-4) activities in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, HIV seropositive subjects, cancer patients (acute and chronic type lymphoblastic leukaemia) and to compare them with the results of healthy individuals. Eighty-eight subjects were enrolled in this study, 24 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, 20 patients with HIV seropositive subjects, 24 patients with cancer, 12 patients with acute type lymphoblastic leukaemia, 12 patients with chronic type lymphoblastic leukaemia) patients and 20 healthy individuals. ADA activity was determined in serum samples using colorimetric method and plasma PF4 activity was measured by using a sandwich-type enzyme immunoassay. When all study groups were compared with the control group, mean serum ADA activities were found to be significantly (p<0.01) higher in the sera of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis (median, range: 39 IU/l), HIV seropositive subjects (median, range: 31 IU/l) than in the sera of cancer patients (median, range: 15) and healthy controls (median, range: 32 IU/l). Plasma PF-4 activities in active pulmonary tuberculosis patients (median, range: 84 IU/ml) were found to be significantly elevated when compared to HIV seropositive subjects (median, range: 59 IU/ml), cancer patients (median, range 55 IU/ml) and healthy individuals (median, range: 56 IU/ml) (p<0.01). Serum ADA and plasma PF-4 activities showed significant alteration in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis compared to patients with HIV seropositive subjects, cancer patients and healthy individuals. In conclusion, we suggest that serum ADA and PF-4 activities can be used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis as an supplementary laboratory test in combination with clinical and laboratory findings. Further controlled studies are necessary to determine the importance of the PF-4 and ADA activities in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, HIV seropositive subjects and cancer patients.