Abstract—The role undertaken by antimicrobial peptides in neutralizing immune inflammation in patients with infection

The role undertaken by antimicrobial peptides in neutralizing immune inflammation in patients with infection remains unclear. Human cathelicidin LL37 is an antimicrobial peptide upregulated by 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D, which has not been previously studied in patients with HCV infection. The aim of our study was to evaluate the serum levels of LL37 as an anti-inflammatory factor in 46 subjects (25 HCV patients and 21 healthy controls) and to investigate the potential relationships between the LL37, 25hydroxyvitamina D and necroinflamation in these patients. The serum concentrations of LL37 were significantly greater in patients with HCV infection by comparison with values obtained from controls (12.2405 ng/ml compared with 9.9930 ng/ml, p=0023). The highest LL37 levels were found in patients with low necroinflammatory activity (18.1426 ng/ml) and medium fibrosis (18.5578 ng/ml), compared to those recorded in controls (9.9930 ng/ml). The difference between the values found in HCV infected patients and controls was statistically significant (p=0.023). The obtained data suggests a possible involvement of LL37 in chronic immune inflammation in patients infected with HCV. Keywords—Cathelicidin-LL37, Chronic inflammation, Hepatitis C virus