Tuberculosis affects both young and old but the two don't fight off the infection in the same way. Add ibuprofen to the mix and lessen inflammation, and old lungs are able to deal with TB better, at a rate almost comparable to young lungs.
In mice, at least, based on research done by scientists from the Ohio State University, the theory holds true. It was no surprise to researchers that old mouse lungs have a harder time clearing out TB compared to their younger counterparts. As it turns out, inflammation may be to blame all along.
Comparing lung cells from old and young mice, researchers found out that old mouse lung cells had more active genes associated with inflammatory proteins interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
Another sign that inflammation was present was that immune system cells in old mouse lung cells were ready to fight infections, an advanced state that signifies inflammation. In young mouse lung cells, the immune system cells were in a steady, resting state.
To determine the action of ibuprofen, researchers laced the mice's food with the drug for two weeks. Lung cells were examined after the mice's diets were modified, showing that levels of pro-inflammatory proteins in old mouse lung cells were reduced to similar levels present in young mouse lung cells. Additionally, immune system cells in old mouse lung cells were no longer in advanced states.
"There's a trend toward reduced inflammation. Essentially, ibuprofen made the lungs of old mice look young. Putting young mice on ibuprofen had no effect because they had no lung inflammation, which implies the ibuprofen reduced the inflammation and changed the immune response in the old mice," explained Joanne Turner, senior author of the study and a microbial infection and immunity associate professor at Ohio State.
By working on certain pathways to reduce inflammation, ibuprofen poses the possibility that the drug may be used in conjunction with current TB treatment programs to improve effectiveness. Turner and her colleagues are working on exploring this idea next.
Old mice used in the study were 18 months old, while the young mice were three months old. The old mice's age is equivalent to around 65 years in humans while the young mice would be about the same age as a young adult.
Co-authors for the study include Nandan Gokhale, Cynthia Canan, Bridget Carruthers, Larry Schlesinger, William Lafuse, and Jordi Torrelles.
Support was provided by the American Federation for Aging Research through the Julie Martin Mid-Career Award, the College of Medicine Systems and Integrative Biology Training Program at Ohio State, and the university's Public Health Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Pilot Award.
