title: Association of reduced tumor necrosis factor alpha, gamma interferon, and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) but increased IL-10 expression with improved chest radiography in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.
abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is a major world health issue. The early identification of patients at risk for a poor response to anti-M. tuberculosis therapy would help elucidate the key players in the anti-M. tuberculosis response. The objective of the present study was to correlate the modulation of cytokine expression (interleukin-1 [IL-1], IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, gamma interferon [IFN-gamma], interferon-inducible protein [IP-10], and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 [MCP-1]) with the clinical response to 2 months of intensive therapy. From January to December 2007, 40 M. tuberculosis-infected patients and 40 healthy patients were recruited. After exclusion for diabetes, 32 patients and 36 controls were analyzed. The clinical responses of the M. tuberculosis-infected patients on the basis of the findings of chest radiography were compared to their plasma cytokine levels measured before and after 2 months of intensive anti-M. tuberculosis therapy and 6 months of therapy with human cytokine antibody arrays. Chest radiographs of 20 of 32 M. tuberculosis-infected patients showed improvement after 2 months of intensive therapy (early responders), while the M. tuberculosis infections in 12 of 32 of the patients resolved after a further 4 months (late responders). The levels of expression of TNF-alpha, MCP-1, IFN-gamma, and IL-1beta were decreased; and the level of IL-10 increased in early responders. After adjustment for age, gender, and the result of sputum culture for M. tuberculosis, significant differences in the levels of MCP-1 and IP-10 expression were observed between the early and the late responders after 2 months of intensive anti-M. tuberculosis therapy. Due to the interpatient variability in IP-10 levels, intrapatient monitoring of IP-10 levels may provide more insight into the M. tuberculosis responder status than comparison between patients. Plasma MCP-1 levels were normalized in patients who had resolved their M. tuberculosis infections. Further studies to evaluate the association of the modulation in MCP-1 levels with early and late responses are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, No.161, Sec. 6, Mincyuan E. Rd., Neihu District, Taipei City 114, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wen-Lin
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Wann-Cherng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Perng
authors.forename: Ching-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Cheng-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chin-Pyng
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jenn-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D016207:Cytokines