title: Alteration of serum inflammatory cytokines in active pulmonary tuberculosis following anti-tuberculosis drug therapy.
abstract: Active pulmonary tuberculosis (APTB) is associated with a failure of the host immune system to control the invading Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The objective of this study was to quantify and assess the role of serum inflammatory cytokines in active pulmonary tuberculosis patients following anti-tuberculosis drug (ATD) therapy. Blood samples were collected from APTB patients and normal healthy subjects (NHS) (total n=204) at baseline and 2, 4 and 6 months post-therapy and the abundance of serum inflammatory cytokines were measured by cytokine specific ELISA. Compared to NHS, APTB patients at baseline had higher levels of serum pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-12p40 (P<0.001), IFN-γ (P<0.001), TNF-α (P<0.01), IL-1β (P<0.001) and IL-6 (P<0.001) and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 (P<0.001) and TGF-β1 (P<0.001) while there was no change in the level of IL-4. In APTB patients, the serum levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6 and TGF-β1 directly relate to the bacterial load while the TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and TGF-β1 relate to radiological severity. At baseline, the IL-6 level in NHS and APTB patients differed most and following ATD therapy, this level rapidly decreased and stabilized by 4-month in APTB patients. It is concluded that a subtle reduction in the serum level of IL-6 of the APTB patients following ATD therapy might play a vital role in immune-protection of the host against Mtb infection and hence the serum IL-6 level can be a useful marker to diagnose the effectiveness of therapy in the patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), 244B, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India.
authors.forename: Imran Hussain
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Albin Mostaque
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), 244B, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India.
authors.forename: Subhadip
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Choudhuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), 244B, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India.
authors.forename: Aditi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), 244B, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India.
authors.forename: Avijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hazra
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), 244B, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata - 700020, India.
authors.forename: Nishith Kumar
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), 244B, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India.
authors.forename: Basudev
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland; School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: bojlul.bahar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bojlul
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bahar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D053762:Interleukin-12 Subunit p40 / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000097:blood; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D053762:Interleukin-12 Subunit p40; D015850:Interleukin-6; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: Cytokine; Immunity; Inflammation; Mycobacteria; Tuberculosis