NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing Protein 3 and LL-37: prognostic value of new biomarkers in community-acquired pneumonia

• Published in: Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia Vol. 45; no. 4; p. e20190001
• Main Authors: Zhu, Chuanan, Zhou, Yingfan, Zhu, Jiabin, Liu, Ye, Sun, Mengyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia 29.08.2019
• Subjects: Aged; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - blood; Biomarkers - blood; Case-Control Studies; Community-Acquired Infections - blood; Community-Acquired Infections - mortality; Female; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Leucine-Rich Repeat Proteins; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein - blood; Original; Pneumonia - blood; Pneumonia - mortality; Predictive Value of Tests; Prospective Studies; Proteins - analysis; Pyrin - blood; Reference Values; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1806-3713; 1806-3756
• DOI: 10.1590/1806-3713/e20190001

This study aimed to determine the serum levels of NACHT, Leucine-rich repeat (LRR), and Pyrin (PYD) domains-containing Protein 3 (NLRP3) and cathelicidin LL-37, and investigate their prognostic significance in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The sample of this prospective study was composed of 76 consecutive patients with CAP. Demographic data and clinical characteristics were collected. Serum levels of NLRP3 and LL-37 were determined by ELISA. Spearman's analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between NLRP3 and LL-37. Association of NLRP3 and LL-37 with 30-day survival and mortality rates was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier curve and logistic regression analysis. Serum NLRP3 significantly increased whereas serum LL-37 significantly decreased in patients with severe CAP. Significant correlation was observed between serum NLRP3 and LL-37 in CAP patients. Patients with higher levels of NLRP3 and lower levels of LL-37 showed lower 30-day survival rate and higher mortality compared with those with lower NLRP3 and higher LL-37 levels. Severe CAP patients tend to present higher serum NLRP3 and lower serum LL-37, which might serve as potential biomarkers for CAP prognosis.