  We employ electric circuit networks to study topological states of matter in
non-Hermitian systems enriched by parity-time symmetry $\mathcal{PT}$ and
chiral symmetry anti-$\mathcal{PT}$ ($\mathcal{APT}$). The topological
structure manifests itself in the complex admittance bands which yields
excellent measurability and signal to noise ratio. We analyze the impact of
$\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric gain and loss on localized edge and defect states in a
non-Hermitian Su--Schrieffer--Heeger (SSH) circuit. We realize all three
symmetry phases of the system, including the $\mathcal{APT}$ symmetric regime
that occurs at large gain and loss. We measure the admittance spectrum and
eigenstates for arbitrary boundary conditions, which allows us to resolve not
only topological edge states, but also a novel $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric
$\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant of the bulk. We discover the distinct properties of
topological edge states and defect states in the phase diagram. In the regime
that is not $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric, the topological defect state disappears
and only reemerges when $\mathcal{APT}$ symmetry is reached, while the
topological edge states always prevail and only experience a shift in
eigenvalue. Our findings unveil a future route for topological defect
engineering and tuning in non-Hermitian systems of arbitrary dimension.
