Neopterin as a new biochemical marker in the clinical monitoring of bone marrow transplant recipients.

In previous reports we demonstrated that increased amounts of the pyrazinopyrimidine compound neopterin are released in the context of T lymphocyte activation. The aim of this investigation was twofold: (1) to define the contribution of hemopoetic cells to neopterin excretion, and (2) to search for the clinical utility of this biochemical marker in the monitoring of such patients. Thirteen patients were grafted with allogeneic, 1 with syngeneic, and 2 with autologous marrow. Urinary neopterin excretion was measured daily by means of high-performance liquid chromatography from the time before transplantation until the patients' discharge from the isolation unit. In all patients bone marrow aplasia was associated with depressed, and engraftment with increased, neopterin values. Rising neopterin levels invariably preceded the cytological definition of "take," on the average by seven days. After hematological reconstitution, neopterin excretion continuously declined in all 5 patients lacking infectious complications and/o-graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). A transitory increase of urinary neopterin followed by normalization was observed in 5 further patients. At the time of increased neopterin excretion, 4 experienced either herpetic infection or GVHD, both of which resolved promptly under the appropriate treatment. Neopterin values remained elevated after engraftment in 6 patients who suffered from persistent GVHD. Results of this pilot study suggest that (1) bone marrow derived cells are crucially involved in production of neopterin in vivo and (2) evaluation of neopterin excretion patterns after hemopoietic reconstitution enables one to discriminate between patients with and without an increased risk of developing GVHD or viral disease.