Low serum levels of cathelicidin LL-37 in leprosy.
Matzner. Michael M; Al Samie. Abdul Rahim AR; Winkler. Heide-Maria HM; Nemeth. Johannes J; Grasnek. Andreas A; Indra. Alexander A; Bieglmayer. Christian C; Winkler. Stefan S
Key Findings
- Leprosy patients have significantly lower serum LL‑37 than healthy controls
- Untreated patients have even lower LL‑37 than those already on treatment
- 25‑hydroxy‑vitamin D levels are unchanged across groups
Practical Outcomes
- For most biohackers, the finding isn’t directly useful because leprosy is rare and the study only shows a correlation, not a proven benefit of boosting LL‑37. Until clinical trials show that raising LL‑37 improves outcomes, there’s no clear protocol to adopt.
Summary
People with leprosy have much lower levels of the natural antimicrobial peptide LL‑37 in their blood, whether they’re already being treated or not, and the drop is biggest right after the disease starts. Vitamin D levels don’t seem to change. This hints that LL‑37 might play a role in fighting the leprosy bacteria, but the study doesn’t show how to use this info for health hacks.
Abstract
The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin LL-37 possesses antituberculous activity, its association with other mycobacterial diseases, such as leprosy, is unknown. We studied serum cathelicidin and 25OH-vitamin D3 levels in 29 leprosy patients and 19 healthy individuals from Yemen. Cathelicidin levels were significantly lower in both treated (n=15) and untreated leprosy patients (n=14) when compared to controls (P<0.001). Within leprosy patients, levels were lower in those who very recently developed disease (untreated group) when compared to already treated patients (P<0.05). 25OH-vitamin D3 levels were not different between groups. The results suggest a potential association of cathelicidin LL-37 with Mycobacterium leprae infection.
Study Information
pubmed
2010
2010-09-29T00:00:00.000Z
10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.09.007
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