Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a global health problem that can result in serious complications associated with collagen degradation. Prolidase is a specific imidodipeptidase that plays an important role in the breakdown of collagen. The aim of this study was to investigate prolidase activity and oxidant-antioxidant status in children with CHB.
Methods: This prospective case control study includes 38 patients with CHB, 31 patients with inactive hepatitis B (IHB), and 29 healthy matched control subjects. Serum prolidase enzyme activity (SPEA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidative activity (TOA), and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were measured and oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated for each group.
Results: Patients with CHB had significantly higher SPEA levels (207.82 ± 186.80 IU/L) than did the controls (58.6 ± 38.1 IU/L) and IHB patients (67.1 ± 39.9) (p < 0.001). CHB patients also had significantly higher TOA (45.0 ± 19.9 vs. 29.4 ± 11.7 (μmolH2O2 Eq./L), p = 0.005), OSI (33.1 ± 21.4 vs. 17.5 ± 10.2, p = 0.002) and MDA (13.4 ± 4.0 vs. 7.8 ± 2.6 μm/L, p < 0.001) values compared with the controls. TOA (32.0 ± 10.0) and OSI (15.4 ± 11.0) values of IHB patients were significantly lower than those of CHB patients (p < 0.05). SPEA had significant correlations with HBV- DNA and ALT values (r =0.514 and r =0.454, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that prolidase activity can be considered as a reliable marker for CHB and increased oxidative stress appears to be related to chronicity of the disease.