Vitamin D receptor
                    <i>BsmI</i>
                    haplotype
                    <i>BB</i>
                    confers lower 25(OH)D levels during tuberculosis: a pilot cross-sectional study

doi:10.1177/20499361261458154

DOI: 10.1177/20499361261458154 ISSN: 2049-9361

Vitamin D receptor BsmI haplotype BB confers lower 25(OH)D levels during tuberculosis: a pilot cross-sectional study

Dilcia Sambrano, Sandra Martín-Peláez, Kharla Salazar, Priya Patel, Fermín Acosta, Johanna Elizabeth Ku, Anabel Argelis García, Emilio Romero, Yaracelis Cuadra, Stephanie Hawkins, Isolina Martínez, Odemaris Luque, Laura Solís, Geydi Cañate, Mariela Vergara, Lizbeth Garibaldi, Julio Jurado, Amador Goodridge

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Background:

Adequate micronutrient absorption remains key for tuberculosis control.

Objective:

To evaluate the frequency of vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, FokI , TaqI , and BsmI , and their relationship with total vitamin D and cathelicidin levels in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and healthy controls (HC) in the province of Colon, Panama.

Design:

Pilot cross-sectional study, PTB ( n = 80) and HC ( n = 50).

Methods:

We measured total vitamin D (25-OH-vitamin D, 25(OH)D) and cathelicidin (LL-37) levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and analyzed vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms by PCR-RFLP. We compared the total 25(OH)D and cathelicidin levels across participant demographics and explored the associations with vitamin D receptor polymorphisms.

Results:

We observed no significant difference in vitamin D levels between PTB and HC (median (IQR) = 36.6 (27.6–48.7) ng/mL and 32.5 (18–46.3) ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.067). In terms of sex, vitamin D levels in women were higher in the PTB group compared to HC (median (IQR) = 33.9 (26.8–48.1) versus 19.5 (11.8–33.4) ng/mL, p = 0.002). Regarding LL-37, PTB unemployed participants showed higher levels compared to HC (median (IQR) = 59.4 (42.4–79.3) versus 28.2 (13.9–42.8) ng/mL, p = 0.048), as well as Hispanic PTBs (59.6 (48.2–71.41) versus 38.9 (19.5–49.2) ng/mL, p = 0.014). As for the treatment phase, vitamin D levels in PTB within 1 month of treatment were higher than HC (median (IQR) = 39.9 (28.5–50.51) versus 32.5 (18–46.3) ng/mL, p = 0.06). When stratifying by sex, these differences were observed only in women (median (IQR) = 41.4 (27.9–55.5) versus 19.5 (11.8–33.4) ng/mL for PTB and HC, respectively; p = 0.01). A statistically significant association was observed between the BsmI VDR polymorphism and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, with a significant difference between PTB and HC ( p = 0.004).

Conclusion:

The observed associations between VDR polymorphisms, vitamin D levels, and cathelicidin levels highlight the need for further studies to clarify the role of host genetic and sociodemographic factors in pulmonary tuberculosis susceptibility and immune response.

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