%0 Journal Article
%T The Assessment of Serum Fibronectin Levels as a Potential Biomarker for the Severity of Drug-Sensitive Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Pilot Study.
%A Kulkarni S
%A Arunachala S
%A Chaya SK
%A ShankaraSetty RV
%A Karnik M
%A Bansal N
%A Ravindran S
%A Lokesh KS
%A Mohan M
%A Kaleem Ullah M
%A Siddaiah JB
%A Mahesh PA
%J Diagnostics (Basel)
%V 14
%N 1
%D 2023 Dec 25
%M 38201359
%F 3.992
%R 10.3390/diagnostics14010050
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health burden caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. Fibronectin (Fn) facilitates Mtb attachment to host cells. We studied the Fn levels in smear-positive TB patients to assess its correlation with disease severity based on sputum smears and chest X-rays.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Newly detected consecutive sputum AFB-positive pulmonary TB patients (n = 78) and healthy control subjects (n = 11) were included. The mycobacterial load in the sputum smear was assessed by IUATLD classification, ranging from 0 to 3. The severity of pulmonary involvement was assessed radiologically in terms of both the number of zones involved (0-6) and as localized (up to 2 zones), moderate (3-4 zones), or extensive (5-6 zones). The serum human fibronectin levels were measured by using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Catalogue No: CK-bio-11486, Shanghai Coon Koon Biotech Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China).<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The PTB patients showed lower Fn levels (102.4 ± 26.7) compared with the controls (108.8 ± 6.8), but they were not statistically significant. Higher AFB smear grades had lower Fn levels. The chest X-ray zones involved were inversely correlated with Fn levels. The Fn levels, adjusted for age and gender, decreased with increased mycobacterial load and the number of chest radiograph zones affected. A Fn level <109.39 g/mL predicted greater TB severity (sensitivity of 67.57% and specificity of 90.38%), while a level <99.32 pg/mL predicted severity based on the chest radiology (sensitivity of 84.21% and specificity of 100%).<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>The Fn levels are lower in tuberculosis patients and are negatively correlated with severity based on sputum mycobacterial load and chest radiographs. The Fn levels may serve as a potential biomarker for assessing TB severity, which could have implications for early diagnosis and treatment monitoring.