Background: Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an enzyme involved in purine metabolism with an important role in cellular immunity. Thus, this study investigated the association between ADA and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related diseases.
Methods: We retrospectively collected data from all children admitted to the Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China, between May 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, who underwent plasma EBV-DNA polymerase chain reaction, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and ADA testing.
Results: Of 6868 children, 1877 had an elevated level of ADA, and 4991 had a level within the normal range. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that ALT (adjusted odds radio [aOR] = 1.001, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.001-1.002), EBV infection (aOR = 8.486, 95% CI: 6.753-10.663), inflammatory disease (aOR = 3.915, 95% CI: 3.198-4.794), autoimmune disease (aOR = 2.307, 95% CI: 1.823-2.920), and malignant disease (aOR = 1.381; 95% CI: 1.101-1.734) were risk factors for an elevated ADA level. Furthermore, the ADA levels among EBV-related diseases significantly differed, including infectious mononucleosis, atypical EBV infection, respiratory infection, malignant disease, and other diseases (P < 0.05). In addition, the ADA level positively correlated with the Epstein-Barr viral load (r = 0.501, P < 0.05).
Conclusions: This large, retrospective study identified a correlation between ADA and EBV-related diseases, which may help clinicians detect these diseases earlier based on the plasma ADA concentration.
Keywords: Adenosine deaminase; Epstein-Barr virus; Viral load.
© 2022. The Author(s).