Department of Experimental Immunology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Pulmonary Disease Hospital, Lodz, Poland
J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2018 Mar-Apr;32(2):321-325.
Development of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection depends on the ability of the host to elicit the protective immune response to the pathogen. Cathelicidin plays a role in antibacterial innate immunity mechanisms. This peptide contributes to the barrier function of respiratory epithelium and takes part in controlling pulmonary bacterial infections. LL-37 (leucine-leucine-37) is involved in host defense and innate immune response to mycobacterial infections, as well. This study aims to evaluate the serum concentrations of LL-37 in individuals with active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and to determine whether any correlations between peptide LL-37, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and vitamin D serum levels exist. A total of 46 adults with pulmonary TB were recruited for the study. Sixty-one controls were randomly selected as control group. Serum concentrations of cathelicidin LL-37, vitamin D (25(OH)D), as well as TNF, were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The mean (± SEM) level of LL-37 was significantly higher in the TB group (7.45±1.58) compared with healthy controls (1.41±0.22) (p less than 0.001). Mean serum concentration of TNF was significantly higher in the TB group (8.51±1.92) compared with healthy controls (2.69±0.19) (p less than 0.001). There was no significant difference in mean serum levels of vitamin D between healthy (26.10±1.74) and TB subjects (24.18±1.95). No correlations between LL-37, TNF, and vitamin D levels in patients with TB were observed. Our results indicated that serum levels of peptide LL-37 during TB is raised significantly, and this observation is compatible with the general view of the important role of this cathelicidin in defense mechanisms against Mtb infection.
结核分枝杆菌（Mtb）感染的发展取决于宿主产生针对病原体的保护性免疫反应的能力。抗菌肽 cathelicidin 在先天免疫机制中发挥作用。这种肽有助于呼吸上皮的屏障功能，并参与控制肺部细菌感染。LL-37（亮氨酸-亮氨酸-37）也参与宿主防御和分枝杆菌感染的先天免疫反应。本研究旨在评估活动性肺结核（TB）患者血清中 LL-37 的浓度，并确定肽 LL-37、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）和维生素 D 血清水平之间是否存在任何相关性。共招募了 46 名成人肺结核患者进行研究。随机选择 61 名对照作为对照组。使用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）试剂盒测量血清 cathelicidin LL-37、维生素 D（25（OH）D）和 TNF 的浓度。TB 组（7.45±1.58）的 LL-37 平均（±SEM）水平明显高于健康对照组（1.41±0.22）（p 小于 0.001）。TB 组（8.51±1.92）的 TNF 平均血清浓度明显高于健康对照组（2.69±0.19）（p 小于 0.001）。健康（26.10±1.74）和 TB 患者（24.18±1.95）之间的血清维生素 D 平均水平无显著差异。未观察到 TB 患者中 LL-37、TNF 和维生素 D 水平之间存在相关性。我们的结果表明，TB 期间血清肽 LL-37 水平显著升高，这一观察结果与这种抗菌肽在防御分枝杆菌感染的机制中的重要作用的一般观点一致。
