Profiling the human immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis by human cytokine array

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the most serious infectious diseases in the world, however, no effective biomarkers can be used for rapid screening of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active TB. In this study, serum cytokines were screened and tested as potential biomarker for TB diagnosis. Cytokine array was used to track the cytokine profile and its dynamic change after TB infection. The different expressions of cytokines were confirmed by ELISA assay. ROC curve analyses were used to evaluate the efficacy of a cytokine or cytokine combination for diagnosis. Eotaxin-2, ICAM-1, MCSF, IL-12p70, and IL-11 were significantly higher in the LTBI individuals. I-309, MIG, Eotaxin-2, IL-8, ICAM-1, IL-6sR, and Eotaxin were significantly higher in active TB patients. ROC curve analyses gave AUCs of 0.843, 0.898, and 0.888 for I-309, MIG, and IL-8, respectively, and 0.894 for the combination panel in active TB diagnosis. IFN-γ/IL-4 and IL-2/TNF-α ratios exhibit dynamic changes in the healthy control and LTBI to different stages of active TB. Serum cytokines, including I-309 and MIG, IL-8, Extoxin-2, ICAM-1 and combinations of cytokines, including IFN-γ/IL-4 and IL-2/TNF-α, can be used as serum biomarkers for LTBI and active TB screening, thus indicating prospective clinical applications.