title: T-cell responses to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigens in active tuberculosis patients at the beginning, during, and after antituberculosis treatment.
abstract: The objectives of the study were to assess the performance of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFN-G-IT) and the T-SPOT.TB tests in the immunodiagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) in adult patients, and to study the T-cell interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) responses during treatment and in patients who have recovered after curative treatment and self-healed TB patients. When only analyzing patients included at the beginning of treatment, the sensitivity was 83.3% for T-SPOT.TB and 69.4% for QFN-G-IT. In contrast, when evaluating patients during treatment, the sensitivity of the T-SPOT.TB and QFN-G-IT decreased to 69.8% and 48.8%, respectively. The response to the specific antigens increased after finishing the treatment compared with the values during the treatment. The T-SPOT.TB was more sensitive in diagnosing active TB than the QFN-G-IT. The IFN-gamma tests could be used as a complementary method in the diagnosis of active TB.
authors.affiliation: Servei de Microbiologia, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Fundació Institut en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain. jadomb@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Domínguez
authors.forename: Malú
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Souza-Galvão
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Manzano
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Latorre
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prat
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lacoma
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Milà
authors.forename: Maria Angeles
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: Neus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Altet
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ausina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007159:Immunologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C117940:CFP-10 protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; C093276:ESAT-6 protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; C072681:Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens; D007371:Interferon-gamma