title: Feasibility of commercial interferon-gamma-based methods for the diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in Finland, a country of low incidence and high bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination coverage.
abstract: The performances of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tubes (QFGT), T SPOT-TB (ELISPOT) and the Mantoux test were compared for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in Finland, a country of low tuberculosis incidence. In Cohort A (16 students), freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and in Cohort B (21 school children), cryopreserved PBMCs, were used for the ELISPOT assay. Cryopreservation of cells in fetal calf serum, but not in serum-free medium, produced false-positive results. Discrepancies between the results of the assays were observed. It was concluded that the accuracy of these ex-vivo methods needs additional evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Division of Clinical Microbiology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital and Haartman Institute, Helsinki, Finland. tamara.tuuminen@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tuuminen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sorva
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liippo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vasankari
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soini
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eriksén-Neuman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miettinen
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Seppälä
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013337:Students, Medical; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007371:Interferon-gamma