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Yasuda I, Saludar NRD, Sayo AR, Suzuki S, Yokoyama A, Ozeki Y, Kobayashi H, Nishiyama A, Matsumoto S, Cox SE, Tanaka T, Yamashita Y. Evaluation of cytokine profiles related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis latent antigens using a whole-blood assay in the Philippines. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1330796. [PMID: 38665909 PMCID: PMC11044679 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1330796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction There is no useful method to discriminate between latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). This study aimed to investigate the potential of cytokine profiles to discriminate between LTBI and active PTB using whole-blood stimulation with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) antigens, including latency-associated antigens. Materials and methods Patients with active PTB, household contacts of active PTB patients and community exposure subjects were recruited in Manila, the Philippines. Peripheral blood was collected from the participants and used for whole-blood stimulation (WBS) with either the early secretory antigenic target and the 10-kDa culture filtrate protein (ESAT-6/CFP-10), Rv3879c or latency-associated MTB antigens, including mycobacterial DNA-binding protein 1 (MDP-1), α-crystallin (Acr) and heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HBHA). Multiple cytokine concentrations were analyzed using the Bio-Plex™ multiplex cytokine assay. Results A total of 78 participants consisting of 15 active PTB patients, 48 household contacts and 15 community exposure subjects were eligible. The MDP-1-specific IFN-γ level in the active PTB group was significantly lower than that in the household contact group (p < 0.001) and the community exposure group (p < 0.001). The Acr-specific TNF-α and IL-10 levels in the active PTB group were significantly higher than those in the household contact (TNF-α; p = 0.001, IL-10; p = 0.001) and community exposure (TNF-α; p < 0.001, IL-10; p = 0.01) groups. However, there was no significant difference in the ESAT-6/CFP-10-specific IFN-γ levels among the groups. Conclusion The patterns of cytokine profiles induced by latency-associated MTB antigens using WBS have the potential to discriminate between LTBI and active PTB. In particular, combinations of IFN-γ and MDP-1, TNF-α and Acr, and IL-10 and Acr are promising. This study provides the first demonstration of the utility of MDP-1-specific cytokine responses in WBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ikkoh Yasuda
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Infectious Diseases, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Kita-Fukushima Medical Center, Fukushima, Japan
| | | | | | - Shuichi Suzuki
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Akira Yokoyama
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuriko Ozeki
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
| | - Haruka Kobayashi
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
| | - Akihito Nishiyama
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
| | - Sohkichi Matsumoto
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Universitas Airlangga, Faculty of Medicine, Surabaya, Indonesia
- Division of Research Aids, Hokkaido University Institute for Vaccine Research & Development, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Sharon E. Cox
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Takeshi Tanaka
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
- Infection Control and Education Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Yoshiro Yamashita
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shunkaikai Inoue Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
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Bellini C, Vergara E, Bencs F, Fodor K, Bősze S, Krivić D, Bacsa B, Surguta SE, Tóvári J, Reljic R, Horváti K. Design and Characterization of a Multistage Peptide-Based Vaccine Platform to Target Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection. Bioconjug Chem 2023; 34:1738-1753. [PMID: 37606258 PMCID: PMC10587871 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
The complex immunopathology ofMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) is one of the main challenges in developing a novel vaccine against this pathogen, particularly regarding eliciting protection against both active and latent stages. Multistage vaccines, which contain antigens expressed in both phases, represent a promising strategy for addressing this issue, as testified by the tuberculosis vaccine clinical pipeline. Given this approach, we designed and characterized a multistage peptide-based vaccine platform containing CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes previously validated for inducing a relevant T cell response against Mtb. After preliminary screening, CFP10 (32-39), GlfT2 (4-12), HBHA (185-194), and PPE15 (1-15) were selected as promising candidates, and we proved that the PM1 pool of these peptides triggered a T cell response in Mtb-sensitized human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Taking advantage of the use of thiol-maleimide chemoselective ligation, we synthesized a multiepitope conjugate (Ac-CGHP). Our results showed a structure-activity relationship between the conjugation and a higher tendency to fold and assume an ordered secondary structure. Moreover, the palmitoylated conjugate (Pal-CGHP) comprising the same peptide antigens was associated with an enhanced cellular uptake in human and murine antigen-presenting cells and a better immunogenicity profile. Immunization study, conducted in BALB/c mice, showed that Pal-CGHP induced a significantly higher T cell proliferation and production of IFNγ and TNFα over PM1 formulated in the Sigma Adjuvant System.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Bellini
- MTA-TTK
Lendület “Momentum” Peptide-Based Vaccines Research
Group, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest 1117, Hungary
- Hevesy
György PhD School of Chemistry, Eötvös
Loránd University, Budapest 1117, Hungary
| | - Emil Vergara
- Institute
for Infection and Immunity, St. George’s,
University of London, London SW17 0RE, U.K.
| | - Fruzsina Bencs
- Hevesy
György PhD School of Chemistry, Eötvös
Loránd University, Budapest 1117, Hungary
- Laboratory
of Structural Chemistry and Biology, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest 1117, Hungary
| | - Kinga Fodor
- Department
of Laboratory Animal Science and Animal Protection, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest 1078, Hungary
| | - Szilvia Bősze
- ELKH-ELTE
Research Group of Peptide Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd
Research Network (ELKH), Eötvös
Loránd University, Budapest 1117, Hungary
| | - Denis Krivić
- Division
of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Gottfried Schatz Research Center, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Bernadett Bacsa
- Division
of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Gottfried Schatz Research Center, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Sára Eszter Surguta
- Department
of Experimental Pharmacology and National Tumor Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Oncology, Budapest 1122, Hungary
| | - József Tóvári
- Department
of Experimental Pharmacology and National Tumor Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Oncology, Budapest 1122, Hungary
| | - Rajko Reljic
- Institute
for Infection and Immunity, St. George’s,
University of London, London SW17 0RE, U.K.
| | - Kata Horváti
- MTA-TTK
Lendület “Momentum” Peptide-Based Vaccines Research
Group, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest 1117, Hungary
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Yamashita Y, Yasuda I, Tanaka T, Ikeda T, Terada M, Takaki M, Tsuchihashi Y, Asoh N, Ohara Y, Enany S, Kobayashi H, Matsumoto S, Morimoto K. Antigen-specific cytokine profiles for pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex disease stage diagnosis. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1222428. [PMID: 37520555 PMCID: PMC10380938 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1222428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Controlling pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease is difficult because there is no way to know the clinical stage accurately. There have been few attempts to use cell-mediated immunity for diagnosing the stage. The objective of this study was to characterize cytokine profiles of CD4+T and CD19+B cells that recognize various Mycobacterium avium-associated antigens in different clinical stages of MAC. Methods A total of 47 MAC patients at different stages based on clinical information (14 before-treatment, 16 on-treatment, and 17 after-treatment) and 17 healthy controls were recruited. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured with specific antigens (MAV0968, 1160, 1276, and 4925), and the cytokine profiles (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-17) of CD4+/CD3+ and CD19+ cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results The response of Th1 cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α against various antigens was significantly higher in both the on-treatment and after-treatment groups than in the before-treatment group and control (P < 0.01-0.0001 and P < 0.05-0.0001). An analysis of polyfunctional T cells suggested that the presence of IL-2 is closely related to the stage after the start of treatment (P = 0.0309-P < 0.0001) and is involved in memory function. Non-Th1 cytokines, such as IL-10 and IL-17, showed significantly higher responses in the before-treatment group (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.01-0.0001). These responses were not observed with purified protein derivative (PPD). CD19+B cells showed a response similar to that of CD4+T cells. Conclusion There is a characteristic cytokine profile at each clinical stage of MAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiro Yamashita
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shunkaikai Inoue Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Ikkoh Yasuda
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Infectious Diseases, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Takeshi Tanaka
- Infection Control and Education Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Toru Ikeda
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki Rosai Hospital, Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Mayumi Terada
- Department of Internal Medicine, Koseikai Nijigaoka Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Masahiro Takaki
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shunkaikai Inoue Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Yoshiko Tsuchihashi
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juzenkai Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Norichika Asoh
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juzenkai Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Yukiko Ohara
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Niigata, Japan
| | - Shymaa Enany
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
- Biomedical Research Department, Armed Force College of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Haruka Kobayashi
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Niigata, Japan
| | - Sohkichi Matsumoto
- Department of Bacteriology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine, Niigata, Niigata, Japan
| | - Konosuke Morimoto
- Department of Internal Medicine, Koseikai Nijigaoka Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Respiratory Infectious Disease, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
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Firouzi Z, Jaafari MR, Sankian M, Zare S, Tafaghodi M. A novel nanomicelle composed from PEGylated TB di-peptide could be successfully used as a BCG booster. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES 2022; 25:223-231. [PMID: 35655599 PMCID: PMC9124544 DOI: 10.22038/ijbms.2022.61373.13583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Objectives Tuberculosis affects one-third of the world's population and leads to a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Bacillus Chalmette-Guerin (BCG) as the only approved vaccine for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) does not show enough protection in the vaccinated population. Materials and Methods The main aim of this study was to prepare a self-assembled nanomicelle composed from a di-block polymer in which, a di-fusion peptide was the hydrophobic block and polyethylene glycol (PEG) was the hydrophilic block. The micelles were characterized in vitro and in vivo as an antigen delivery system/adjuvant both with and without a prime BCG. Results The micellar nanovaccine was able to elicit good dendritic cell maturation. Nanomicelles could efficiently induce systemic cytokines as well as nasal secretory predominant antibody titers (sIgA). The expression pattern of cytokines indicated the superiority of cellular immunity. Nasal administration of two doses of nanomicelles after a prime subcutaneous administration of BCG induced the highest mucosal and systemic immune responses. Conclusion Based on our results PEG-HspX/EsxS self-assembled nanomicelle is highly immunogenic and can be considered a potential vaccine candidate against Mtb to boost BCG efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohreh Firouzi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mahmoud Reza Jaafari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mojtaba Sankian
- Immunobiochemistry Laboratory, Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Sirwan Zare
- Immunobiochemistry Laboratory, Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mohsen Tafaghodi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran,Corresponding author: Mohsen Tafaghodi. School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Tel: +98-51-31801337; Fax: +98-51-38823251;
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Alvarez AH. Revisiting tuberculosis screening: An insight to complementary diagnosis and prospective molecular approaches for the recognition of the dormant TB infection in human and cattle hosts. Microbiol Res 2021; 252:126853. [PMID: 34536677 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2021.126853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is defined as a chronic infection in both human and cattle hosts and many subclinical cases remain undetected. After the pathogen is inhaled by a host, phagocyted bacilli can persist inside macrophages surviving intracellularly. Hosts develop granulomatous lesions in the lungs or lymph nodes, limiting infection. However, bacilli become persister cells. Immunological diagnosis of TB is performed basically by routine tuberculin skin test (TST), and in some cases, by ancillary interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). The concept of human latent TB infection (LTBI) by M. tuberculosis is recognized in cohorts without symptoms by routine clinical diagnostic tests, and nowadays IGRA tests are used to confirm LTBI with either active or latent specific antigens of M. tuberculosis. On the other hand, dormant infection in cattle by M. bovis has not been described by TST or IGRA testing as complications occur by cross-reactive immune responses to homolog antigens of environmental mycobacteria or a false-negative test by anergic states of a wained bovine immunity, evidencing the need for deciphering more specific biomarkers by new-generation platforms of analysis for detection of M. bovis dormant infection. The study and description of bovine latent TB infection (boLTBI) would permit the recognition of hidden animal infection with an increase in the sensitivity of routine tests for an accurate estimation of infected dairy cattle. Evidence of immunological and experimental analysis of LTBI should be taken into account to improve the study and the description of the still neglected boLTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel H Alvarez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y diseño del Estado de Jalisco A.C. (CIATEJ), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), Av. Normalistas 800 C.P. 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
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Bellini C, Horváti K. Recent Advances in the Development of Protein- and Peptide-Based Subunit Vaccines against Tuberculosis. Cells 2020; 9:cells9122673. [PMID: 33333744 PMCID: PMC7765234 DOI: 10.3390/cells9122673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) herald of the “End TB Strategy” has defined goals and targets for tuberculosis prevention, care, and control to end the global tuberculosis endemic. The emergence of drug resistance and the relative dreadful consequences in treatment outcome has led to increased awareness on immunization against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, the proven limited efficacy of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only licensed vaccine against Mtb, has highlighted the need for alternative vaccines. In this review, we seek to give an overview of Mtb infection and failure of BCG to control it. Afterward, we focus on the protein- and peptide-based subunit vaccine subtype, examining the advantages and drawbacks of using this design approach. Finally, we explore the features of subunit vaccine candidates currently in pre-clinical and clinical evaluation, including the antigen repertoire, the exploited adjuvanted delivery systems, as well as the spawned immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Bellini
- Hevesy György PhD School of Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary;
- MTA-ELTE Research Group of Peptide Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Kata Horváti
- MTA-ELTE Research Group of Peptide Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Correspondence:
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Tang J, Huang Y, Jiang S, Huang F, Ma T, Qi Y, Ma Y. QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus combined with HBHA-Induced IFN-γ release assay improves the accuracy of identifying tuberculosis disease status. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2020; 124:101966. [PMID: 32866942 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2020.101966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE QFT-Plus's newly added antigen elicited a specific CD8 T-cell response, which is closely related to active TB (ATB), and the IGRA based on Heparin-binding haemagglutinin (HBHA-IGRA) is a promising tool in latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) diagnosis. The objective of our study is to evaluate whether the combination of QFT-Plus and HBHA-IGRA can improve the diagnosis accuracy of ATB and LTBI. METHODS 135 healthcare workers (HCWs) and 57 patients with active pulmonary TB in a Chinese TB Hospital were recruited, HCWs underwent screening for LTBI using the QFT-Plus assay. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the distribution of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets in active TB patients with positive culture result. Then, the patients with ATB, individuals with LTBI and healthy TB-uninfected controls (HC) were tested by QFT-Plus and HBHA-IGRA respectively, and the efficiency of distinguishing LTBI from ATB by QFT-Plus and HBHA-IGRA were evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS QFT-Plus TB2-TB1 which was positively correlated with CD8 T-cell response (r = 0.731, P < 0.001) in peripheral blood was significantly higher in ATB than LTBI and HC (median 0.47 IU/mL versus 0.02 IU/mL and 0.00 IU/mL, respectively; both P < 0.0001). While the HBHA-induced IFN-γ response did not differ between ATB and HC (median 12.12 pg/mL versus 10.95 pg/mL; P = 0.463), but was significantly higher in the LTBI (median 69.67 pg/mL; both P < 0.0001). The ROC area under the curve (AUC) for identifying ATB and LTBI was 0.769 (95% CI: 0.652-0.886; P = 0.0001) for QFT-Plus TB2-TB1, and 0.886 (95% CI:0.791-0.982; P<0.0001) for HBHA-IGRA. After combining the HBHA-IGRA with QFT-Plus results, the accuracy of identifying ATB and LTBI was improved to 85.7% from 74.3%. CONCLUSIONS HBHA-based IGRA better differentiates between LTBI and ATB compared to QFT-Plus CD8 T-cell response. In addition, combining HBHA-IGRA and QFT-Plus improves the accuracy of identifying tuberculosis disease status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhua Tang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, China
| | - Yuan Huang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, China
| | - Shen Jiang
- Department of Gynecology and Pediatric Tuberculosis, Xi'an Chest Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Fang Huang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xi'an Chest Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Tingting Ma
- Department of Gynecology and Pediatric Tuberculosis, Xi'an Chest Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Yun Qi
- Department of Gynecology and Pediatric Tuberculosis, Xi'an Chest Hospital, Xi'an, China.
| | - Yueyun Ma
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Air Force Medical Center, Air Force Medical University, Beijing, China.
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