REACTIVITY OF BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

Evaluation of proliferative and IL-2-producing activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes wasperformed, using cultural methods, in patients with drug-sensitive and drug-resistant infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis. The cell testing was performed at basal level and following in vitro stimulation with recombinant IL-2 and M. tuberculosis antigens. It was established that clinical course of infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis, independently on drug sensitivity/resistance of the infectious pathogen, is accompanied by suppression of spontaneous lymphoproliferation. The levels of induced IL-2 production in drug-sensitive tuberculosis proved to be increased, whereas a reserve of IL-2-secreting reactivity of blood lymphocytes was lower than in drugresistant infection. Also, it was revealed that the level of lymphoproliferative response induced by IL-2, does not depend on clinical variant of tuberculosis, whereas stimulation of IL-2 production in blood lymphocytes is attained only in cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis variant.

Keywords

• pumonary tuberculosis
• antigens
• lymphocytes
• cytokines
• reactivity