THE INFLUENCE OF IMMUNOLOGICAL REACTIVITY TO THE MYCOBACTERIAL INFECTION PROCESS IN PATIENTS WITH PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS
The ratio between the inflammatory and regulatory cytokines involved in immune response during infection M. tuberculosis (Mtb) determines the course of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). We analyzed the production levels of 44 cytokines associated with innate and adaptive immunity by multiplex analysis in antigen-induced plasma (Ag-plasma) and serum of TB patients (TBP) and healthy donors who had contacted with TBP («TBC»). In TBP, the production levels of IL-2, IFN-γ, IP-10 in Ag-plasma were higher than in TBC (p<0.005). TBP with initially increased production levels of 12 cytokines in Ag-plasma were characterized by severe TB and slow responsiveness to anti-TB therapy compared to patients with initially low production levels of these cytokines. In conclusion, the production levels of IL-2, IFN-γ, and IP-10 were increased in patients with active TB. The immune reactivity evaluation of TBP with recently diagnosed TB can predict the TB severity and patients’ responsiveness to anti-TB therapy.