• Mustafa Kerem Calgin and Yeliz Cetinkol.
• Dr. Mustafa Kerem Calgin, Medical Microbiology Department, Ordu University Faculty of Medicine, Ordu, Turkey.
• Pak J Med Sci. 2019 Jan 1; 35 (3): 847-851.

Background & ObjectiveLiver and intestines are anatomically and physiologically linked. Zonulin is a protein modulating intercellular tight junctions and regulating intestinal permeability. Copeptin was studied as a marker of systemic circulation disorders in research about vasopressin and was associated with liver disease prognosis. Serum zonulin and copeptin levels were measured in patients with diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with the aim of easing antiviral treatment management in clinical applications and to investigate the association with normal population and viral load.MethodsAnalysis included the serum of 30 CHB patients and 17 controls. HBV-DNA real-time PCR tests were completed. CHB patients were divided into three subgroups according to viral load in serum. Zonulin and copeptin levels were measured using ELISA kits.ResultsSerum zonulin and copeptin levels were significantly low in CHB patients compared to controls (p<0.001). When CHB subgroups are investigated in terms of serum zonulin and copeptin levels, there was an inverse correlation observed with significant difference (p<0.01, p<0.05).ConclusionThe negative correlation between serum zonulin and copeptin with HBV-DNA load revealed in our study shows they may be used to monitor treatment. Zonulin and copeptin assays provide the possibility of developing new approaches to CHB diagnosis and monitoring.

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