Limiting dilution analysis of IL-2-responsive cells in PBMC revealed that tuberculosis patients had 10-fold fewer IL-2-responsive cells than did controls.
A significant increase in interleukin (IL-2) expression (p < 0.001) and a significant decrease in IL-5 expression (p < 0.0001) were observed in patients with tuberculosis but no differences were seen in the expression of IL-4 and interferon gamma between the two study groups.
However these results support the contention that M. tuberculosis may play a pathogenetic role at least in the part of sarcoidosis patients with elevated interleukin-2 receptor values.
Therapeutic efficacy of a tuberculosis DNA vaccine encoding heat shock protein 65 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the human interleukin 2 fusion gene.
Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine encoding the fusion protein of mycobacterium heat shock protein 65 (Hsp65) with human interleukin-2 against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in BALB/c mice.
mRNA is a marker of cell viability.Quantifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA in sputum is a promising tool for monitoring response to antituberculosis therapy and evaluating the efficacy of individual drugs. mRNA levels were measured in sputum specimens from patients with tuberculosis (TB) receiving monotherapy in an early bactericidal activity study of fluoroquinolones and in those receiving a standard rifampin-based regimen in an interleukin-2 (IL-2) trial.
The transcription of CD4, TGFβ-1 (P < 0.01) and the expression of IL-2 (P < 0.01) and IL-13 (P < 0.05) was upregulated in latent TB compared with that in controls.
All M. tuberculosis-specific CD4+ subsets, with the exception ofIL-2-only cells, switched from central to effector memory phenotype in active tuberculosis vs latent tuberculosis infection, accompanied by a reduction in IL-7 receptor α (CD127) expression.
All mice showed strong antibody responses to the InsB protein, and splenocytes stimulated with InsB showed strong IFN-γ and IL-17 responses and a weak IL-2 response, all of which have been implicated in disease expression and used for the immunodiagnosis of TB.
Enhanced protection was accompanied by increased multifunctional Th1 CD4(+) T cell responses, most notably by an elevated frequency of M. tuberculosis antigen-specific IL-2-producing CD4(+) T cells post-vaccination.
This study confirms IL-2 induced by PE35 and PPE68 as a sensitive and specific biomarker and highlights IL-2 as new promising adjunct markers for discriminating of LTBI and active TB disease.
In chronic Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, T-cells may express the exhaustion phenotype and show a progressive loss of secretion of IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α.
Of 21 initial cytokines analysed, IFN-γ and six other candidates (interleukin [IL] 2, inducible protein 10 [IP-10], IL-13, IL-1α, tumour necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α] and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]) were significantly more elevated in children with TB and those with LTBI than in the non-infected controls.
Multicolor flow cytometry analysis of whole-blood cultures showed higher Lpd-specific Th1 recall response (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2; <i>P</i> = 0.0006) and memory CD4<sup>+</sup> and CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells (CCR7<sup>+</sup> CD45RA<sup>-</sup> and CCR7<sup>-</sup> CD45RA<sup>-</sup>) in healthy household contacts (HHC) of TB (<i>P</i> < 0.0001), which is comparable with or higher than the standard antigens, ESAT-6 and CFP-10.
However, upon standard anti-TB treatment, both the systemic as well as the TB antigen stimulated levels of IL-2, IL-7 and IL-21 were significantly increased in PTB individuals.
In a study of 81 individuals, divided into four groups based on their HIV-1 status and TB disease activity, we compared the differentiation (CD27 and KLRG1), activation (HLA-DR), homing potential (CCR4, CCR6, CXCR3, and CD161) and functional profiles (IFNγ, IL-2, and TNFα) of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> (Mtb)-specific CD4+ T cells using flow cytometry.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from each patient and the LIOSpot® TB anti-human IL-2 ELISpot assay was performed to test their proliferative response to M. tuberculosis antigens ESAT-6, CFP-10 and Ala-DH.