Sputum, mononuclear cell lysate, and plasma levels of nitric oxide in Nigerian pulmonary tuberculosis patients before and during antituberculosis chemotherapy

Background Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes tuberculosis (TB) which in only few patients have advanced from latent TB to drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DSTB) or drug-resistant tuberculosis, indicating effective immune mechanisms. One of such is nitric oxide (NO) whose role is not fully elucidated in its defense against human TB. Patients and methods This study determined the levels of NO in the sputum, mononuclear cell lysate, and plasma of 60 DSTB patients, 60 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) patients before and during chemotherapy compared with 50 apparently healthy participants. Result Plasma NO level was significantly reduced in MDRTB patients compared with the control and DSTB (P Conclusion Taken together, the study shows that NO plays a vital role in human innate immune defense against TB and that arginine supplementation is adviced with anti-TB therapy.