title: Differential Impairment of Interferon-γResponses in Two Cases of Pulmonary Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease.
abstract: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs) are weakly virulent intracellular pathogens that are common in food and water supplies. The persistent culture of these organisms in the setting of clinical infection warrants investigation of immune function. In cases of isolated pulmonary NTM (PNTM) disease, underlying immune defects have not been clearly identified. We present two patients with isolated PNTM infection who demonstrated differentially impaired IFN-γproduction across a range of stimuli. These cases show that cellular IFN-γresponses may be defective in a proportion of patient suffering PNTM disease and that when assessing responses, the stimulant used in the testing is important to delineate defective cell populations. Impaired IFN-γresponses to IL-12 + BCG seem to be a poor prognostic indicator in PNTM disease and in these cases were not improved by adjuvant IFN-γ.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: William
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0095-2514
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rae
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton and Southampton NIHR Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Yifang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Efrem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eren
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK; National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Döffinger
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK; Academic Unit of Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton and Southampton NIHR Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Anthony P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Williams