Abstract
A thorough understanding of the processes modulating the innate and acquired immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection in the context of gene expression is still a scientific and diagnostic problem. The study was aimed to assess IL-18, IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), IL-18R, IFN-γ, and IL-37 mRNA expression in patients with active tuberculosis (ATB) and healthy volunteers with latent M.tb-infection (LTB) or M.tb-uninfected healthy controls (Control). The relative mRNA expression was assessed in the buffy coat blood fraction using the qPCR method. In total, 97 BCG-vaccinated Polish adults were enrolled in the study. The relative expression of IL-18 and IL-18BP mRNA was significantly elevated in the ATB and LTB groups. In ATB, but not LTB individuals, the overexpression of IL-18 and IL-18BP, as well as a significant increase in IFN-γ mRNA expression, might be considered as a manifestation of active tuberculosis disease. No statistically significant differences were observed in the IL-37 mRNA expression among the studied groups. Particularly noteworthy is the outstanding reduction in the relative expression of IL-18R mRNA in the LTB group as compared to the ATB and Control group. Reduced expression of IL-18R in LTB group may, at least partially, prevent the development of a pathological inflammatory reaction and promote the maintenance of homeostatic conditions between host immunity and M.tb.
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading global cause of death from an infectious agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb)
The antigen-specific, as well as non-specific, response of the immune cells to M.tb infection is modulated by mRNA expression, which results in the production of cytokines and other proteins activating numerous cell populations
A study group consisted of 97 adults that were vaccinated with M. bovis BCG in childhood, including 51 patients with active pulmonary active tuberculosis (ATB) (40 males, 11 females) aged 23–80 years, hospitalized and diagnosed in the Regional Center Hospital for Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases, and Rehabilitation in
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading global cause of death from an infectious agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). TB affects about 10-million people in the world and is a cause of two-million deaths annually, according to the estimates of the World Health Organization [1]. One-third of the world population carries an asymptomatic M.tb infection. These individuals have developed an efficient immune response that allows them to block the metabolic activity of the pathogen, but it does not provide its eradication. People with a latent TB infection (LTB) represent a reservoir of potential progress to disease, because about 5–10% of them will develop active TB disease, if not treated. The antigen-specific, as well as non-specific, response of the immune cells to M.tb infection is modulated by mRNA expression, which results in the production of cytokines and other proteins activating numerous cell populations.
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