Clinical Trial of Phenylbutyrate and Vitamin D in Tuberculosis (TB)

Summary

Vitamin D exerts its effects via the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) present in activated macrophages and induces expression and release of the cathelicidin, LL-37, a human antimicrobial peptide involved in killing of MTB. We aimed to investigate whether treatment of newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients for 2 months with adjunctive PBA and vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) in combination with standard DOTS therapy (i) can improve response to standard short course TB therapy towards a rapid recovery; (ii) can induce expression of LL-37 in macrophages; (iii) can enhance killing capacity of macrophages isolated from TB patients infected in vitro with MTB; and (iv) does not evoke any adverse effects.

Timeline

Start

2010-12

Primary completion

2014-12

Completion

2014-12

Publications

• Rekha RS, Mily A, Sultana T, Haq A, Ahmed S, Mostafa Kamal SM, van Schadewijk A, Hiemstra PS, Gudmundsson GH, Agerberth B, Raqib R. Immune responses in the treatment of drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis with phenylbutyrate and vitamin D3 as host directed therapy. BMC Infect Dis. 2018 Jul 4;18(1):303. doi: 10.1186/s12879-018-3203-9.
• 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. Significant Effects of Oral Phenylbutyrate and Vitamin D3 Adjunctive Therapy in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 22;10(9):e0138340. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138340. eCollection 2015.
• Mily A, Rekha RS, Kamal SM, Akhtar E, Sarker P, Rahim Z, Gudmundsson GH, Agerberth B, Raqib R. Oral intake of phenylbutyrate with or without vitamin D3 upregulates the cathelicidin LL-37 in human macrophages: a dose finding study for treatment of tuberculosis. BMC Pulm Med. 2013 Apr 16;13:23. doi: 10.1186/1471-2466-13-23.

Drugs

Indications