Decreased IFN- γ and increased IL-4 production by human CD8+ T cells in response toMycobacterium tuberculosis in tuberculosis patients

• Published in: Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 82; no. 1; pp. 7 - 13
• Main Authors: Smith, S.M., Klein, M.R., Malin, A.S., Sillah, J., McAdam, K.P.W.J., Dockrell, H.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2002
• ISSN: 1472-9792; 1873-281X
• DOI: 10.1054/tube.2001.0317

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- γ and TNF- α 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.