Pulmonary tuberculosis is associated with higher plasma levels of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and lower granulysin levels. However, the association of AMPs with tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBL) is not well studied. Hence, we measured the plasma levels of human beta defensin-2 (HBD2), granulysin, human neutrophil peptides 1-3 (HNP1-3) and cathelicidin (LL37) in TBL compared to latent tuberculosis (LTB) and healthy controls (HC) and in TBL individuals upon completion of anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT). We examined the association of AMPs with TBL lymph node culture grade or lymph node involvement. Finally, the discriminatory potential of these proteins was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. TBL individuals display significantly diminished circulating levels of AMPs (granulysin and HNP1-3) but not HBD-2 and LL-37 in comparison to LTB and HCs. Similarly, after ATT, both HBD-2 and HNP1-3 were significantly elevated and LL-37 was significantly reduced in TBL individuals. Granulysin and HNP1-3 discriminates TBL from LTB and HC individuals upon ROC analysis. AMPs did not exhibit significant correlation either with lymph node culture grades or lymph node involvement. Overall, TBL individuals show decreased AMPs and their reversal after ATT suggesting their association with underlying immune alteration in this poorly studied form of TB disease.

中文翻译：

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结核性淋巴结炎全身抗菌肽水平降低及抗结核治疗后逆转

肺结核与较高的血浆抗微生物肽 (AMP) 水平和较低的颗粒溶素水平有关。然而，AMPs 与结核性淋巴结炎 (TBL) 的关系还没有得到很好的研究。因此，我们测量了与潜伏性结核病 (LTB) 和健康对照 (HC) 相比，TBL 中人 β 防御素 2 (HBD2)、颗粒溶素、人中性粒细胞肽 1-3 (HNP1-3) 和导管素 (LL37) 的血浆水平在完成抗结核治疗 (ATT) 后的 TBL 个体中。我们检查了 AMPs 与 TBL 淋巴结培养分级或淋巴结受累的关联。最后，使用接收者操作特征 (ROC) 分析评估这些蛋白质的区分潜力。与 LTB 和 HC 相比，TBL 个体的 AMP（颗粒溶素和 HNP1-3）循环水平显着降低，但 HBD-2 和 LL-37 则没有。同样，在 ATT 后，HBD-2 和 HNP1-3 均显着升高，而 LL-37 在 TBL 个体中显着降低。根据 ROC 分析，Granulysin 和 HNP1-3 可将 TBL 与 LTB 和 HC 个体区分开来。AMPs 与淋巴结培养等级或淋巴结受累均无显着相关性。总体而言，TBL 个体在 ATT 后表现出降低的 AMP 及其逆转，表明它们与这种研究不足的结核病疾病形式中的潜在免疫改变有关。根据 ROC 分析，Granulysin 和 HNP1-3 可将 TBL 与 LTB 和 HC 个体区分开来。AMPs 与淋巴结培养等级或淋巴结受累均无显着相关性。总体而言，TBL 个体在 ATT 后表现出降低的 AMP 及其逆转，表明它们与这种研究不足的结核病疾病形式中的潜在免疫改变有关。根据 ROC 分析，Granulysin 和 HNP1-3 可将 TBL 与 LTB 和 HC 个体区分开来。AMPs 与淋巴结培养等级或淋巴结受累均无显着相关性。总体而言，TBL 个体在 ATT 后表现出降低的 AMP 及其逆转，表明它们与这种研究不足的结核病疾病形式中的潜在免疫改变有关。