title: The source of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific IFN-γ production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of TB patients.
abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific IFN-γ secretion plays important roles in anti-tuberculosis (TB) immunity. Mtb-specific IFN-γ response can be induced in HIV/TB co-infected patients with a low CD4 lymphocyte count; this suggests that the source of Mtb-specific IFN-γ production is not limited in CD4(+) T lymphocytes. Currently, the major sources of Mtb-specific IFN-γ production and the function and phenotype of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing cells still remain unclear. Thirty-nine participants (24 active TB patients, 10 HIV/TB co-infected patients, and 5 healthy volunteers) were recruited according to conventional tests and Mtb-specific IFN-γ ELISPOT assay. Multicolor flow cytometry was used to investigate the production of intracellular IFN-γ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after Mtb-specific antigen stimulation. Our results showed that CD4(+), CD8(+) T cells and NK cells are all major sources of Mtb-specific IFN-γ production in PBMCs of TB patients. Moreover, CD8(+) T cells are the highest number of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing cells in HIV/TB co-infected patients. Although the activity of NK cells is significantly reduced in TB patients when compared with healthy controls, Mtb-specific antigen stimulation induces a significant increase in NK cell activity. We also showed that CD45RO is the characteristic marker of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing T cells but not that of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing NK cells in peripheral blood. High expression of CD11a may be the characteristic feature of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing NK cells. This study put forward a new insight on the source of antigen-specific IFN-γ-production in PBMCs of TB patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Lie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Shiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Botao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiefang Road 1095,Wuhan 430030, China. Electronic address: zysun@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ziyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D040881:CD11a Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D040881:CD11a Antigen; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens
keywords: CD4(+) T cells; CD8(+) T cells; IFN-γ; NK cells; Tuberculosis