The change of serum inflammatory markers and cytokines following anti-tuberculosis drug therapy. = The change of serum inflammatory markers and cytokines following anti-tuberculosis drug therapy.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Introduction: Active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is associated with cell-mediated immunity. Multiple cytokines and inflammatory markers are known to have roles in control TB infection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the change of multiple cytokines and inflammatory markers in active TB patients following anti-TB drug therapy. Methods: Patients with active TB were prospectively recruited between December 2010 and February 2013 at Severance Hospital, in Seoul, South Korea. Treatment was based on the standard regimen of rifampicin (10 mg/kg body weight [BW]/day), isoniazid( 5 mg/kg BW/day), ethambutol (15-25 mg/kg BW/day),and pyrazinamide (15-30 mg/kg BW/day). Blood samples were collected from active TB patients (total n＝18) at before (T0), after 2 months (T2), and after 6 months (T6) of anti-TB treatment. We measured the levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12, IL-10, IL-13, and TNF-αin the supernatant from the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay (QFT-GIT) and WBC count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, red cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume(MPV), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Results: Compared to baseline levels, IL-10, TNF-α in the supernatant from QFT-GIT, WBC count, neutrophil count, platelet count were produced in significantly lower amounts in response to the treatment. As for IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12, IL-13 responses, the decrease of median values were not statistically significant. Also the results showed that the IL-10/ IFN-γ ratio of supernatant of QFT-GIT and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR)after treatment significantly decreased compared to the baseline, whereas the IL-2/ IFN-γ ratio of supernatant of QFT-GIT increased after treatment. Conclusions: In conclusion, IL-10, TNF-αin the supernatant from QFT-GIT, WBC count, neutrophil count, platelet count decreased following anti-TB drug therapy. And also the IL-2/IFN-γ ratio, IL-10/IFN-γ ratio of supernatant of QFT-GIT, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be used as biomarkers to evaluate the effectiveness of drug therapy in active TB patients.