Fluid and plasma levels of antimicrobial peptides in patients with pulmonary or pleural tuberculosis at diagnosis and throughout specific treatment

BONGIOVANNI BETTINA; MARIN LUEVANO SARA; D'ATTILIO LUCIANO; DIAZ ARIANA; FERNANDEZ ROCIO DEL VALLE; SANTUCCI NATALIA; BÉRTOLA DIEGO; MARCHESINI MARCELA; BAY MARÍA LUISA; BRUNO RIVAS SANTIAGO; BOTTASSO OSCAR

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXVI Reunion Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología (SAI); 2018

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important infectious diseases worldwide. Our previous studies in patients with pulmonary TB (PTB) or pleural TB (PLTB) showed an immune-endocrine imbalance less pronounced in the latter group. Based on the role of antimicrobial peptides like cathelicidin (LL37) and human β-defensins type 2 (HBD2) and 3 (HBD3) in the antimycobacterial response, the present study analyzed: 1) the levels of these peptides in plasma of PTB and PLTB patients as well as in the pleural fluid of the latter patient group; 2) the possible correlations of these peptide concentrations with levels of adrenal steroids in both compartments. The sample consisted of 30 healthy controls (HCo), 29 age- and sex-matched TB -HIV negative patients bled at diagnosis (T0) as well as two (T2) and six months (T6) after treatment initiation and 10 untreated PLTB patients (plasma and fluid collection). Severe PTB patients showed increased HBD2 and HBD3 levels at T0 (p