ABSTRACT
The parameters of the lymphocytic CD-population composition and the production of cytokines in the cell cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were studied in patients with infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis. A marked reduction in the relative and absolute count of CD3+ and CD4+ lymphocytes and an increase in the level of CD8- and CD16-positive cells were established in both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant types of the disease. A significant increase in the production of IL-12 and a reduction in the spontaneous elaboration of interferon-gamma were observed in all the examinees. Addition of lipid and protein myobacterial antigens (Beijing strains) caused a notable decrease in the generation of the study cytokines as compared with the respective parameters in healthy donors and their basal secretion irrespective of the type of a tuberculous process.
