Tuberculosis Research Unit, Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
J Infect Dis. 2010 Dec 1;202(11):1685-9. doi: 10.1086/656772. Epub 2010 Oct 19.
Individuals with self-healed tuberculosis from the preantibiotic era offer a unique insight into the natural history of and protective immunity to tuberculosis. In 27 such persons whose tuberculosis self-healed >50 years earlier, circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen-specific interferon γ (IFN-γ)- and interleukin 2 (IL-2)-secreting T cells were detected ex vivo in 16 and 19 individuals, respectively. The M. tuberculosis-specific T cell cytokine profile was dominated by effector memory T cells that secrete both IFN-γ and IL-2 and included T cells that secrete only IFN-γ or IL-2, suggesting persistence of antigen secreted by viable bacilli. Of 10 individuals with no M. tuberculosis antigen-specific IFN-γ-secreting T cells detectable ex vivo, 7 had evidence of central memory T cells, consistent with clearance of infection.
在抗生素出现之前，患有自发性结核病（self-healed tuberculosis）的个体为我们提供了一个独特的视角，使我们能够深入了解结核病的自然病史和保护性免疫。在 27 名结核病自发性痊愈时间超过 50 年的个体中，分别有 16 名和 19 名个体的外周血中检测到循环结核分枝杆菌抗原特异性干扰素 γ（IFN-γ）和白细胞介素 2（IL-2）分泌 T 细胞。结核分枝杆菌特异性 T 细胞细胞因子谱以同时分泌 IFN-γ和 IL-2 的效应记忆 T 细胞为主，其中包括仅分泌 IFN-γ或 IL-2 的 T 细胞，这表明活细菌仍在持续分泌抗原。在 10 名无法检测到体外存在结核分枝杆菌抗原特异性 IFN-γ分泌 T 细胞的个体中，有 7 名个体存在中央记忆 T 细胞的证据，这与感染的清除一致。
