ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Vitamin D supplementation is believed to be beneficial in the treatment of patients with tuberculosis (TB), however, results from clinical trials have been inconclusive.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We performed a systematic literature search across MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Springer, EBSCO, ProQuest, HighWire Press, and Web of Science, published as of December 2013. We individually inspected citations and extracted data independently. We estimated pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random-effect models. We also assessed risk of bias using the Jadad scale and the quality of the evidence using GRADE. We included all randomized controlled trials comparing vitamin D with or without standard TB therapy or placebo.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of five studies were analyzed in our meta analysis covering 841 newly-diagnosed TB cases. Patients receiving vitamin D supplementation had a 39% reduced risk of sputum smear or culture positive after six weeks of anti-TB treatment than those in the control group, although this is not statistically significant (pooled RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.56, P = 0.30). Apart from an increased serum vitamin D level in the supplement group after eight weeks of treatment there was no evidence of any additional adverse effects related to vitamin D.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The meta analysis results indicate that vitamin D supplementation does not seem to have any beneficial effect in the treatment of TB. Future rigorous randomized controlled trials are needed to explore whether the supplementation of vitamin D could shorten treatment duration and to confirm whether the polymorphisms of vitamin D receptor have any potentially beneficial effect.</p>
Subject(s)
Humans , Dietary Supplements , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Tuberculosis , Blood , Drug Therapy , Vitamin D , Blood , Therapeutic UsesABSTRACT
Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid is a synthetic analog of double-stranded RNA,which plays a vital role in the regulation of immune system.Toll-like receptor 3 ( TLR3 ),melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MAD-5) and retinoic acid inducible gene - Ⅰ ( RIG- Ⅰ ) are the main three intracellular receptors binding to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid which activates human anti-tumor immune responses including the activation of innate immunity and acquired immunity through TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing inter feron-β (TRIF) and interferon-β.Thus,polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid plays an important role in regulating anti-tumor immune responses.The immunoregulation mechanisms ofpolyinosinic-polycytidylic acid in melanoma,breast cancer,malignant glioma and lung cancer have been clarified,which will provide new strategies for tumor immunotherapy.
ABSTRACT
AIM: To investigate the key molecular mechanism of inflammatory response in alveolar epithelial cells induced by nontypeable haemophilus influenzae(NTHi).METHODS: A549 cells were co-cultured with NTHi(multiplicity of infection,MOI: 10) and harvested 15 min and 30 min after stimulation.The phosphorylation of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase(p38 MAPK) in A549 cells was detected by Western blotting.The intracellular expression of nuclear factor-?B(NF-?B) p65 was examined by flow cytometry 4 h after stimulation.A549 cells were preincubated with p38 inhibitor(SB203580) or NF-?B inhibitor(PDTC) for 1 h and then stimulated with NTHi for 24 h.The level of interleukin 8(IL-8) in the supernatants was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).RESULTS: The phosphorylation of p38 MAPK was rapidly induced by NTHi stimulation.The expression of NF-?B p65 in A549 cells after NTHi stimulation was significantly up-regulated compared with control group(P