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Study · Measured the body's own peptide · 2015

1 result

Significant Effects of Oral Phenylbutyrate and Vitamin D3 Adjunctive Therapy in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Mily A, Rekha RS, Kamal SM, Arifuzzaman AS, Rahim Z, Khan L, Haq MA, Zaman K, Bergman P, Brighenti S, Gudmundsson GH, Agerberth B, Raqib R

PloS one22 Sept 2015Cited by 137 (Europe PMC)

PMID26394045 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC4578887 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0138340 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-26394045
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Summary

BackgroundDevelopment of new tuberculosis (TB) drugs and alternative treatment strategies are urgently required to control the global spread of TB. Previous results have shown that vitamin D3 (vitD3) and 4-phenyl butyrate (PBA) are potent inducers of the host defense peptide LL-37 that possess anti-mycobacterial effects.ObjectiveTo examine if oral adjunctive therapy with 5,000IU vitD3 or 2x500 mg PBA or PBA+vitD3 to standard chemotherapy would lead to enhanced recovery in sputum smear-positive pulmonary TB patients.MethodsAdult TB patients (n = 288) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in Bangladesh. Primary endpoints included proportions of patients with a negative sputum culture at week 4 and reduction in clinical symptoms at week 8. Clinical assessments and sputum smear microscopy were performed weekly up to week 4, fortnightly up to week 12 and at week 24; TB culture was performed at week 0, 4 and 8; concentrations of LL-37 in cells, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) in plasma and ex vivo bactericidal function of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) were determined at week 0, 4, 8, 12 and additionally at week 24 for plasma 25(OH)D3.ResultsAt week 4, 71% (46/65) of the patients in the PBA+vitD3-group (p = 0.001) and 61.3% (38/62) in the vitD3-group (p = 0.032) were culture negative compared to 42.2% (27/64) in the placebo-group. The odds of sputum culture being negative at week 4 was 3.42 times higher in the PBA+vitD3-group (p = 0.001) and 2.2 times higher in vitD3-group (p = 0.032) compared to placebo. The concentration of LL-37 in MDM was significantly higher in the PBA-group compared to placebo at week 12 (p = 0.034). Decline in intracellular Mtb growth in MDM was earlier in the PBA-group compared to placebo (log rank 11.38, p = 0.01).ConclusionAdjunct therapy with PBA+vitD3 or vitD3 or PBA to standard short-course therapy demonstrated beneficial effects towards clinical recovery and holds potential for host-directed-therapy in the treatment of TB.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT01580007.
CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study1

No result from this study comes from a test of the peptide.

Natural levels measured1

These results measure the body's own peptide. Nobody was given the peptide. They are not evidence about taking it. They are left out of key results, evidence counts and charts.

  1. 01HumanEndogenous levelRandomized controlled trialOther

    In adults with pulmonary tuberculosis on standard chemotherapy, oral phenylbutyrate raised the LL‑37 concentration in monocyte-derived macrophages more than placebo at week 12.

    In plain wordsIn adults with tuberculosis, phenylbutyrate raised the body's own LL‑37 in immune cells more than placebo.

    Peptide
    LL-37
    Outcome
    IncreaseLL-37 concentration in monocyte-derived macrophages at week 12
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Immune response · Infection

    Source sentences

    Summary
    The concentration of LL-37 in MDM was significantly higher in the PBA-group compared to placebo at week 12 (p = 0.034).
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Adult TB patients (n = 288) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in Bangladesh.

    This result measures the body's own LL-37. Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 3Current

    9 Oct 2026, 18:17 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 2

    9 Oct 2026, 03:03 UTC

    Study data updated · source update from Europe PMC

  3. Version 1

    9 Oct 2026, 02:57 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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