title: Serum CXCR3 ligands as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of tuberculosis.
abstract: METHODS
  Tertiary care academic medical centre.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical utility of CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) ligands in the diagnosis and monitoring of tuberculosis (TB).
  
  
  METHODS
  Presumptive TB patients (active TB, 256; non-TB disease, 52) and 201 healthy controls were enrolled. The serum levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and CXCR3 ligands (CXCL9, a monokine induced by IFN-γ [MIG] and CXCL11, an IFN-inducible T-cell α chemoattractant [I-TAC]) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An IFN-γ release assay (IGRA) was also performed. Serial samplings were performed in 19 TB patients at baseline and at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment initiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All marker levels were higher in TB patients than in controls and non-TB patients. The area under the curve (AUC) for differentiating between all TB patients and controls was 0.96 (95%CI 0.94-0.98) for CXCL9, 0.84 (95%CI 0.80-0.87) for CXCL11 and 0.61 (95%CI 0.57-0.66) for IFN-γ. CXCL9 levels afforded particularly high discriminatory power between TB patients and IGRA-positive controls (AUC = 0.95, 95%CI 0.92-0.97). The levels of CXCR3 ligands decreased significantly during follow-up, and these changes were correlated with treatment response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CXCR3 ligands CXCL9 and CXCL11 may be useful surrogate markers for the diagnosis and follow-up of TB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Humanities & Social Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Humanities & Social Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D054371:Chemokine CXCL11 / Q000097:blood*; D054370:Chemokine CXCL9 / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D054367:Receptors, CXCR3 / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C515202:CXCL11 protein, human; C080810:CXCL9 protein, human; C515187:CXCR3 protein, human; D054371:Chemokine CXCL11; D054370:Chemokine CXCL9; C573415:IFNG protein, human; D054367:Receptors, CXCR3; D007371:Interferon-gamma