Decreased IFN- gamma and increased IL-4 production by human CD8(+) T cells in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in tuberculosis patients.
Smith, SM;
Klein, MR;
Malin, AS;
Sillah, J;
McAdam, KPWJ;
Dockrell, HM;
(2002)
Decreased IFN- gamma and increased IL-4 production by human CD8(+) T cells in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in tuberculosis patients.
Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland), 82 (1).
pp. 7-13.
ISSN 1472-9792
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1054/tube.2001.0317
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To investigate the role of MHC class I restricted CD8(+) T cells in host defense to M. tuberculosis, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy BCG-vaccinated donors and untreated pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients in The Gambia were stimulated for 6 days with M. bovis BCG or M. tuberculosis and the CD8(+) T cell response analyzed. Intracellular FACS analysis of cytokine production by CD8(+) T cells showed that IFN- gamma and TNF- alpha production were greatly reduced in TB patients compared to healthy controls. IL-4-producing CD8(+) T cells were detected in TB patients, a phenotype absent in controls. Collectively, these data suggest that an alteration in the type 1/type 2 cytokine balance occurs in CD8(+) T cells during clinical tuberculosis, and that this may provide a surrogate marker for disease.
