Combining interferon-γrelease assays with lymphocyte enumeration for diagnosis ofMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection

Abstract

Objective To investigate the possibility of combining tuberculosis (TB)-interferon (IFN)-γ release assays (IGRAs) with lymphocyte enumeration for diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Methods We performed a retrospective study of 166 TB patients [68 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis TB (PTB) and 98 patients with extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB)] diagnosed in our hospital between January 2016 and May 2018 along with 377 non-TB patients. The diagnostic performance of the TB-IGRA was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Youden’s index was used to determine the optimal cut-off threshold. Results IFN-γ release in patients with PTB and EPTB were dramatically higher compared with non-TB patients (203.58±18.00 pg/mL, 201.83±14.56 pg/mL and 32.12±4.36 pg/mL, respectively). IFN-γ release was positively correlated with lymphocyte counts and percentages in patients with PTB (r = 0.252 and r = 0.278, respectively) and EPTB (r = 0.229 and r = 0.298, respectively). No correlation was observed in non-TB patients. The area under the ROC curve for TB-IGRA was 0.884. When the optimal cut-off value for IFN-γ (14 pg/mL, Youden’s index 0.661) was applied, the sensitivity was 88.6% and the specificity was 77.5%. Conclusions Combining TB-IGRA with lymphocyte enumeration was effective for diagnosis of early-stage Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Improved ELISPOT protocol for monitoring Th1/Th17 T-cell response following T.gondii infection

“…The corresponding ROC curve was plotted to evaluate the accuracy of the assay with respect to the serodiagnosis. An AUC of 0.91 was calculated (IC 95% 0.82-0.99) which is similar to or exceeds that reported for ELISPOT-based diagnostic tests [16,17,24] or other IFN-γ release assays (IGRA)-based diagnostic tests [25][26][27]. In addition, subsequent evaluation of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12 and IL-17 from among 17 donors showed, for the first time to our knowledge, a greater stimulation of toxo+ compared with toxo-subjects, confirming that this stimulation approach elicited a specific Th1/Th17 immune response.…”

Mechanism of COVID-19-Related Proteins in Spinal Tuberculosis: Immune Dysregulation

“…The study by Lv et al. found that the lymphocytes of non-TB were 1.48 ± 0.05, that of pulmonary TB was 1.31 ± 0.08, and that of extrapulmonary TB was 1.23 ± 0.06 ( 18 ). The number of lymphocytes in non-TB was significantly decreased, and the comparison was statistically significant(P=0.004).…”

SARS-CoV-2-Specific Immune Cytokine Profiles to mRNA, Viral Vector and Protein-Based Vaccines in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Beyond Interferon Gamma

“…Afterwards, the mean of the duplicates was calculated for N, S1-, and S2-stimulated samples, and control values (N) were subtracted from Ag-stimulated values (S1/S2). Since the literature reports a baseline circulating plasma IFN-γ concentration of around <20 pg/mL in healthy individuals, a positive T cell response was defined as an IFN-γ release >20 pg/mL [ 19 , 20 ]. Research concerning concentration thresholds for the other cytokines above which the T cell response would be considered positive was very scarce.…”