Vitamin D3 Status and the Association with Human Cathelicidin Expression in Patients with Different Clinical Forms of Active Tuberculosis

Abstract

Low vitamin D (vitD₃) is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the world known to be associated with numerous medical conditions including infections such as tuberculosis (TB). In this study, vitD₃ status and its association with the antimicrobial peptide, human cathelicidin (LL-37), was investigated in Ethiopian patients with different clinical forms of TB. Patients with active TB (<i>n</i> = 77) and non-TB controls (<i>n</i> = 78) were enrolled in Ethiopia, while another group of non-TB controls (<i>n</i> = 62) was from Sweden. Active TB included pulmonary TB (<i>n =</i> 32), pleural TB (<i>n</i> = 20), and lymph node TB (<i>n</i> = 25). Concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25(OH)D₃) were assessed in plasma, while LL-37 mRNA was measured in peripheral blood and in samples obtained from the site of infection. Median 25(OH)D₃ plasma levels in active TB patients were similar to Ethiopian non-TB controls (38.5 versus 35.0 nmol/L) and vitD₃ deficiency (.