Functional capacity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific T cell responses in humans is associated with mycobacterial load.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: High Ag load in chronic viral infections has been associated with impairment of Ag-specific T cell responses; however, the relationship between Ag load in chronic Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and functional capacity of M. tuberculosis-specific T cells in humans is not clear. We compared M. tuberculosis-specific T cell-associated cytokine production and proliferative capacity in peripheral blood from adults with progressively higher mycobacterial loads-that is, persons with latent M. tuberculosis infection (LTBI), with smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and smear-positive TB. Patients with smear-positive TB had decreased polyfunctional IFN-?(+)IL-2(+)TNF-?(+) and IL-2-producing specific CD4 T cells and increased TNF-? single-positive cells, when compared with smear-negative TB and LTBI. TB patients also had increased frequencies of M. tuberculosis-specific CD8 T cells, compared with LTBI. M. tuberculosis-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell proliferative capacity was profoundly impaired in individuals with smear-positive TB, and correlated positively with ex vivo IFN-?(+)IL-2(+)TNF-?(+) CD4 T cells, and inversely with TNF-? single-positive CD4 T cells. During 6 mo of anti-TB treatment, specific IFN-?(+)IL-2(+)TNF-?(+) CD4 and CD8 T cells increased, whereas TNF-? and IFN-? single-positive T cells decreased. These results suggest progressive impairment of M. tuberculosis-specific T cell responses with increasing mycobacterial load and recovery of responses during therapy. Furthermore, these data provide a link between specific cytokine-producing subsets and functional capacity of M. tuberculosis-specific T cells, and between the presence of specific CD8 T cells ex vivo and active TB disease. These data have potentially significant applications for the diagnosis of TB and for the identification of T cell correlates of TB disease progression.
SUBMITTER: Day CL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3159795 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
ACCESS DATA