Evidence that changes in antimicrobial peptides during tuberculosis are related to disease severity, clinical presentation, specific therapy and levels of immune-endocrine mediators.
Bongiovanni. Bettina B; Marín-Luevano. Sara S; D'Attilio. Luciano L; Díaz. Ariana A; Fernández. Rocío Del Valle RDV; Santucci. Natalia N; Bértola. Diego D; Bay. María Luisa ML; Rivas-Santiago. Bruno B; Bottasso. Oscar O
Key Findings
- Severe pulmonary TB patients have elevated beta‑defensin‑3, which decreases after anti‑TB treatment.
- LL‑37 levels are normal at diagnosis but tend to increase during successful therapy, especially in moderate cases.
- Pleural TB shows a distinct pattern: lower beta‑defensin‑2 but higher beta‑defensin‑3 and LL‑37 in both blood and pleural fluid.
- Positive correlations were found between beta‑defensin‑3 and cortisol/IL‑6, and between LL‑37 and dehydroepiandrosterone, linking these peptides to the body’s stress‑hormone response.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, the findings mainly highlight that LL‑37 and beta‑defensins fluctuate with TB severity and treatment, but they don’t suggest a way to boost these peptides for health benefits. There’s no dosage guidance or protocol for using LL‑37 as a supplement, so the study offers limited direct actionability for longevity or performance optimization.
Summary
The study measured levels of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 and two beta‑defensins in people with active tuberculosis. In severe lung TB, beta‑defensin‑3 was high but dropped after treatment, while LL‑37 stayed normal at first and rose during therapy. In pleural TB, beta‑defensin‑2 was low but beta‑defensin‑3 and LL‑37 were higher, suggesting different immune roles in the two disease forms.
Abstract
Given the role of host defense peptides (HDPs) in the defensive response against mycobacteria, we analyzed the circulating levels of LL-37, β-defensin-2 and -3 in newly diagnosed patients with pulmonary (PTB) or pleural tuberculosis (PLTB) in whom measurements of pleural fluids were also performed. Severe PTB patients displayed higher circulating amounts of β-defensin-3, statistically different from controls, further decreasing upon antimycobacterial treatment. LL-37 concentrations appeared within the normal range at diagnosis, but tended to increase during treatment, becoming statistically upon its completion in moderate cases. PLTB patients revealed decreased levels of β-defensin-2 in presence of increased amounts of β-defensin-3 and LL-37; in their plasma or pleural fluids. Considering the immune-endocrine dysregulation of tuberculosis, we also performed correlation analysis detecting positive associations between levels of cortisol, IL-6 and β-defensin-3 in plasma from untreated severe patients as did their dehydroepiandrosterone and LL-37 values. Increased presence of β-defensins, may represent an attempt to improve defensive mechanisms; which also take part in the inflammatory reaction accompanying TB, reinforced by the association with immune-endocrine mediators. The divergent profile of PLTB patients, decreased β-defensin-2 but increased β-defensin-3 and LL-37 levels, suggests a differential role of these HDPs in a situation characterized for its better protective response.
Study Information
pubmed
2019
2019-11-12T00:00:00.000Z
10.1016/j.cyto.2019.154913
11
41