Nitric oxide levels are not changed in saliva of patients infected with hepatitis C virus Os níveis de óxido nítrico não estão alterados na saliva de pacientes infectados com o vírus da hepatites C

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Fernando N. Tavares, Patricia L. Gonçalves, Simone A.C. Porto, Fausto E.L. Pereira, Rodrigo Ribeiro-Rodrigues
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2005
• Subjects: Hepatite C; Saliva; Óxido nítrico; Sialoadenite; Hepatitis C; Nitric oxide; Sialoadenitis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822005000600001; https://doaj.org/article/c0580cc59622427fa50d5e8fc23f392c

The aim of this investigation was to determine nitric oxide metabolite levels in saliva samples from hepatitis C virus-positive patients in an attempt to test the hypothesis if increased levels of nitric oxide metabolites correlates with the presence of HCV-RNA in saliva. Saliva of 39 HCV-positive patients and 13 HCV-negative patients, without clinical or laboratorial evidence of liver disease were tested for nitric oxide metabolites. HCV-RNA was detected in serum and saliva by a RT-PCR method and nitric oxide level was determined by evaluation of its stable degradation products, nitrate and nitrite. No differences were found between the concentration of nitrite in saliva from HCV patients and controls, in despite of the presence or not of HCV RNA in saliva. Patients with HCV and cirrhosis had higher concentrations of nitrite but not significantly different from the control group or the groups of anti-HCV patients without cirrhosis. Increased levels of nitrite were not detected in anti-HCV positive patients, an indirect indication that chronic sialoadenitis are infrequent in these patients or occurs with low intensity not sufficient to increase nitric oxide metabolite levels in saliva. O objetivo desta investigação foi avaliar os níveis de metabólitos do óxido nítrico na saliva de pacientes anti-vírus da hepatite C positivos na tentativa de correlacionar os níveis desses metabólitos com a presença do VHC na saliva. Foram estudados 39 pacientes anti-VHC positivos (9 com enzimas hepáticas normais, 16 com hepatite crônica e 14 com cirrose hepática) e em 13 controles saudáveis, sem sinais ou sintomas de doença hepática.O RNA do VHC foi identificado no soro e na saliva através de técnica de RT-PCR e os níveis de óxido nítrico foram avaliados pela quantificação dos seus metabólitos estáveis, nitratos e nitritos. Os resultados demonstraram que os níveis de nitrito na saliva não diferiram significativamente no grupo anti-VHC positivo em relação ao grupo controle, nem entre os grupo com presença ou ausência do RNA do VHC ...