title: NK cell activity in pulmonary tuberculosis.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cell activity, which may provide defence mechanism in the immune surveillance system, was studied in 38 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 54 sex-, and age-matched healthy controls. The mean NK cell activity in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis (58.7 +/- 26.4%) was significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than that in healthy controls (17.4 +/- 12.2%). Classifying the patients into three groups according to the state of excretion of tubercle bacilli, the mean NK cell activity in newly diagnosed patients was 43.2 +/- 20.7%, in advanced disease 59.4 +/- 30.3%, and in successfully treated patients 71.9 +/- 25.9%.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology*