[Antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation products in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis]

Increased vegetable and fruit intake is associated with reduced failure rate of tuberculosis treatment: a hospital-based cohort study in China

Increased intake of vegetables and fruits has been associated with reduced risk of tuberculosis infection. Vegetables and fruits exert immunoregulatory effects; however, it is not clear whether vegetables and fruits have an adjuvant treatment effect on tuberculosis. Between 2009 and 2013, a hospital-based cohort study was conducted in Linyi, Shandong Province, China. Treatment outcome was ascertained by sputum smear and chest computerised tomography, and dietary intake was assessed by a semi-quantitative FFQ. The dietary questionnaire was conducted at the end of month 2 of treatment initiation. Participants recalled their dietary intake of the previous 2 months. A total of 2309 patients were enrolled in this study. After 6 months of treatment, 2099 patients were successfully treated and 210 were uncured. In multivariate models, higher intake of total vegetables and fruits (OR 0·70; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·99), total vegetables (OR 0·68; 95 % CI 0·48, 0·97), dark-coloured vegetables (OR 0·61; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·86) and light-coloured vegetables (OR 0·67; 95 % CI 0·48, 0·95) were associated with reduced failure rate of tuberculosis treatment. No association was found between total fruit intake and reduced failure rate of tuberculosis treatment (OR 0·98; 95 % CI 0·70, 1·37). High intake of total vegetables and fruits, especially vegetables, is associated with lower risk of failure of tuberculosis treatment in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The results provide important information for dietary guidelines during tuberculosis treatment.

Oxidative Stress and Trace Elements in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients During 6 Months Anti-tuberculosis Treatment

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a well-known cause of imbalance in oxidative stress (OS) status and trace element levels. However, little information is available for targeting the correlation between OS and trace elements in pulmonary TB patients. The aim of our study was to analyze the OS status and its correlation with trace elements in patients initially and during 6 months anti-TB treatment. Eighty-six newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients were consecutively recruited, and 112 age- and sex-matched healthy controls participated in the study. Serum markers of OS and trace elements levels were tested and analyzed in all subjects during 6 months anti-TB treatment. Compared with healthy controls, significantly increased level of malondialdehyde (MDA), decreased glutathione (GSH) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities were found in TB patients. The activities of SOD and CAT and GSH level recovered till normal range at treatment final. Zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and copper (Cu) concentrations were significantly lower in TB patients in comparison with healthy controls, whereas Zn, Cu, and Se concentrations rise during 6 months anti-TB treatment. Zn was positively correlated with Cu, Se, and GSH, while MDA was negatively correlated with Zn, Se, SOD, and CAT, and SOD was positively correlated with Cu, Zn, and CAT. Our findings indicate that anti-TB treatment could reduce the status of OS and increase the levels of trace elements. The routine assessment of OS markers and element traces may guarantee improved monitoring the anti-TB treatment.

Proteomic profiling for plasma biomarkers of tuberculosis progression

Severe pulmonary tuberculosis (STB) is a life-threatening condition with high economic and social burden. The present study aimed to screen for distinct proteins in different stages of TB and identify biomarkers for a better understanding of TB progression and pathogenesis. Blood samples were obtained from 81 patients with STB, 80 with mild TB (MTB) and 50 healthy controls. Differentially expressed proteins were identified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based label-free quantitative proteomic analysis. Functional and pathway enrichment analyses were performed for the identified proteins. The expression of potential biomarkers was further validated by western blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for selected protein biomarkers in diagnosing STB were also evaluated. A total of 1,011 proteins were identified in all three groups, and 153 differentially expressed proteins were identified in patients with STB. These proteins were involved in ‘cellular process’, ‘response to stimulus’, ‘apoptotic process’, ‘immune system process’ and ‘select metabolic process’. Significant differences in protein expression were detected in α-1-acid glycoprotein 2 (ORM2), interleukin-36α (IL-36α), S100 calcium binding protein A9 (S100-A9), superoxide dismutase (SOD)1 in the STB group, compared with the MTB and control groups. The combination of plasma ORM2, IL-36α, S100A9 and SOD1 levels achieved 90.00% sensitivity and 92.16% specificity to discriminate between patients with STB and MTB, and 89.66% sensitivity and 98.9% specificity to discriminate between patients with STB and healthy controls. ORM2, S100A9, IL-36α and SOD1 were associated with the development of TB, and have the potential to distinguish between different stages of TB. Differential protein expression during disease progression may improve the current understanding of STB pathogenesis.

Analysis of oxidative stress enzymes and structural and functional proteins on human aortic tissue from different aortopathies

The role of oxidative stress in different aortopathies is evaluated. Thirty-two tissue samples from 18 men and 14 women were divided into: 4 control (C) subjects, 11 patients with systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), 4 with variants of Marfan's syndrome (MV), 9 with Marfan's syndrome (M), 2 with Turner's syndrome, and 2 with Takayasu's arteritis (TA). Aorta fragments were homogenized. Lipoperoxidation (LPO), copper-zinc and manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn and Cu-Zn-SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), nitrates and nitrites (NO3(-)/NO2(-)), and type IV collagen, and laminin were evaluated. There was an increase in Mn- and Cu-Zn-SOD activity in SAH, MV, M, and Turner's syndrome. There was also an increase in CAT activity in M and Turner' syndrome. GPx and GST activity decreased and LPO increased in all groups. eNOS was decreased in SAH, MV, and M and NO3 (-)/NO2 (-) were increased in SAH and TA. Type IV collagen was decreased in Turner's syndrome and TA. Laminin γ-1 was decreased in MV and increased in M. In conclusion, similarities and differences in oxidative stress in the different aortopathies studied including pathologies with aneurysms were found with alterations in SOD, CAT, GPx, GST, and eNOS activity that modify subendothelial basement membrane proteins.

Superoxide dismutase 2 as a marker to differentiate tuberculous pleural effusions from malignant pleural effusions

OBJECTIVES

Our previous study demonstrated that superoxide dismutase levels were higher in tuberculous pleural effusions than in malignant pleural effusions, but that this difference could not be used to discriminate between the two. The objective of the present study was to investigate the levels of superoxide dismutase 2 in pleural effusions and to evaluate the diagnostic significance of pleural effusion superoxide dismutase 2.

METHODS

Superoxide dismutase 2 concentrations were determined in pleural effusions from 54 patients with tuberculous pleural effusion and 33 with malignant pleural effusion using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Pleural effusion interferon gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha levels were also analyzed by ELISA. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate the significance of differences. Associations between superoxide dismutase 2 concentrations and sex, age and smoking habits were assessed using Spearman's or Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis. Receiver operator characteristic analysis was performed to evaluate the value of superoxide dismutase 2 levels in the discrimination of tuberculous pleural effusion from malignant pleural effusion.

RESULTS

Superoxide dismutase 2 levels were significantly higher in patients with tuberculous pleural effusion compared with those with malignant pleural effusion (p<0.05). When superoxide dismutase 2 was used to differentiate between tuberculous pleural effusions and malignant pleural effusions, the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.909 (95% confidence interval, 0.827-0.960; p<0.01). With a cut-off value of 54.2 ng/mL, the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 75.8% (95%CI: 57.7-88.9%), 98.1% (95%CI: 90.1-99.7%), 40.91 and 0.25, respectively. Furthermore, significant correlations between pleural effusion superoxide dismutase 2 and interferon gamma (r=0.579, p<0.01) and between pleural effusion superoxide dismutase 2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (r=0.396, p<0.01) were observed.

CONCLUSION

Pleural effusion superoxide dismutase 2 can serve as a biomarker for differentiating between tuberculous pleural effusions and malignant pleural effusions. Because of the high correlations of superoxide dismutase 2 with pleural effusion interferon gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha levels, this marker may act as an inflammatory factor that plays an important role in the development of tuberculous pleural effusion.