Down-Regulation of Serum High-Mobility Group Box 1 Protein in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Lung Disease

Abstract

BackgroundRecently, increased levels of high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) have been identified in various inflammatory conditions and infections. However, no studies have evaluated the HMGB1 level in nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease, and compared it to mycobacterial lung disease.MethodsA total of 60 patients newly diagnosed with NTM lung disease, 44 culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients, and 34 healthy controls, were included in this study. The serum HMGB1 concentrations were quantified using HMGB1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.ResultsSerum HMGB1 level in patients with pulmonary TB or NTM lung disease, was significantly lower than that of the healthy controls. In addition, the serum HMGB1 level in TB patients was significantly lower than patients with NTM lung disease. However, the levels in NTM patient subgroups did not differ according to the causative species, disease progression, and disease phenotype.ConclusionAlthough low levels of serum HMGB1 has the potential to be a marker of mycobacterial lung disease, these levels were unable to differentiate disease progression and disease phenotype in NTM lung diseases.

HMGB1: a potential target of controlling pulmonary inflammation in people living with HIV

“…It was reported to promote cell activation and release of proinflammatory factors. [5][6][7][8][9] HMGB-1 activates multiple signaling pathways through RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) and/or TLR-induced intracellular signaling pathways, such as MAPkinase and JNK pathways, and subsequent nuclear translocalization of NF-κB, leading to the expression of various leukocyte adhesion molecules, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and chemokines. 10,11 It plays a key role in the process of sepsis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung infection, arthritis and gastrointestinal tumor.…”