Pulmonary Disease Division, Gr. T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania.
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2011 Sep;15(9):1239-45, i. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.10.0445.
Investigation of trace metal behaviour during the treatment of active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients residing in Romania.
To assess, follow and identify serum iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) levels in patients diagnosed and treated for active PTB.
Chemical and statistical analysis of various biochemical parameters in 47 subjects diagnosed with active PTB and 170 healthy Romanian residents.
Copper and ceruloplasmin levels were increased in patients with active PTB compared to the control group (P < 0.01), while the serum Zn level was significantly lower than in healthy subjects (P < 0.01) or within the normal range. The present study shows that there is a significant correlation between serum Cu concentrations and ceruloplasmin.
This study provides preliminary evidence that Zn and Fe redistribution is operating as a primary host defence mechanism to reduce the availability of metals for microbial metabolism during infection. The study also calls attention to the fact that anti-tuberculosis treatment is sufficient to enhance the concentration of the antioxidant species (Cu and ceruloplasmin). The data obtained suggest that serum Cu, Zn and Cu/Zn levels may serve as indirect pointers in the diagnosis of a disease but they cannot be considered as specific markers for TB.
调查罗马尼亚活动性肺结核（PTB）患者治疗过程中痕量金属的行为。
评估、随访和鉴定诊断和治疗活动性 PTB 患者的血清铁（Fe）、铜（Cu）和锌（Zn）水平。
对 47 名确诊活动性 PTB 患者和 170 名罗马尼亚健康居民的各种生化参数进行化学和统计分析。
与对照组相比，活动性 PTB 患者的铜和铜蓝蛋白水平升高（P < 0.01），而血清 Zn 水平明显低于健康受试者（P < 0.01）或处于正常范围内。本研究表明，血清 Cu 浓度与铜蓝蛋白之间存在显著相关性。
本研究初步证明 Zn 和 Fe 再分布是作为一种主要的宿主防御机制发挥作用的，以减少感染期间金属对微生物代谢的可用性。该研究还提请注意这样一个事实，即抗结核治疗足以提高抗氧化物质（Cu 和铜蓝蛋白）的浓度。获得的数据表明，血清 Cu、Zn 和 Cu/Zn 水平可以作为疾病诊断的间接指标，但不能作为结核病的特异性标志物。
