ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Mycobacterium tuberculosis MTB12 protein plays an essential role in pro-inflammatory responses during the early stages of human pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), even though the T-cell immunoreactivity of MTB12 is weaker than that of the 30-kDa antigen (Ag). The objective of this study was to evaluate the humoral immune responses induced by MTB12 Ag during human TB. METHODS: Using an ELISA, anti-MTB12 IgG levels in the sera of TB patients and healthy controls were compared with those induced by the 30-kDa Ag and 38-kDa Ag, or both. RESULTS: In TB patients, the sensitivity and specificity of MTB12 Ag were similar to those of other antigens at 53.0% and 95.4%, respectively. However, the sensitivity increased to 73.0% when the combination of MTB12 and 38-kDa Ag was measured. Specificity remained high when a combination of the individual antigens was used. ELISA results showed that after anti-tuberculosis treatment, the mean IgG levels against MTB12 alone or MTB12 plus 38-kDa Ag were significantly increased in the TB patients, while those against MTB12 plus 30-kDa Ag were not (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these data suggest that MTB12, in combination with 38-kDa Ag, can be used to increase the accuracy of pulmonary TB diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Antigens, Bacterial/immunology , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Lipoproteins/immunology , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/diagnosis , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/immunology , Antigens, Bacterial/blood , Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/immunology , Immunoglobulin M/immunology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/immunology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/bloodABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The genetic determinants for developing TB or having recurrent TB are unknown. The present study investigated the relationship between susceptibility to tuberculosis and human tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 genes (IL-10). METHODS: A case-control study was conducted using two groups of cases--newly diagnosed TB (N-TB) and recurrent TB (R-TB)--and a control group. RESULTS: One hundred and seventeen healthy controls, 80 newly diagnosed TB patients and 65 patients with recurrent TB were enrolled. There was no significant difference in the TNF-alpha-308 G/A genotype between the TB patient groups and the controls. The IL-10 -1082A alleles were markedly over-represented among the TB patient groups compared with the control subjects, however, there was no significant difference in the IL-10 genotype frequency between the N-TB and R-TB patient groups. CONCLUSION: The -1082A allele of the IL-10 gene may be important in determining susceptibility to TB, however, the -308 allele of the TNF-alpha gene does not affect differential TB susceptibility.
