Murthy K J, Vijaya Lakshmi V, Singh S
Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre, 10-1-1, Mahavir Marg, 500 029 Hyderabad, India.
Indian J Clin Biochem. 1997 Dec;12(Suppl 1):76-9. doi: 10.1007/BF02873067.
Tuberculosis is caused byMycobacterium tuberculosis, an intracellular pathogen residing in macrophages. Cell mediated immune (CMI) and delayed type of hypersensitive (DTH) responses play a pivotal role in providing protection to the host. The most important cell is the CD4 T lymphocyte, which is divided into TH1 and TH2 subsets depending on the type of cytokines produced. TH1 cells produce the cytokines interferon-gamma and interleukin-2, which are important for activation of antimycobacterial activities and essential for the DTH response. Grange opines that the immune response in an individual with tuberculous infection gets 'locked in' to one or other pattern of response viz. TH1 or TH2 response, the latter response leading to tissue damage and progression of disease.Stanford and co-workers conducted several studies on the effectiveness ofMycobacterium vaccae, as an immunotherapeutic agent for tuberculosis. It is non-pathogenic in humans and is thought to be a powerful TH1 adjuvant. A series of small studies pointed thatM. vaccae has a beneficial effect and there is enough evidence now to show that its use as an immunotherapeutic agent, as an adjunct to chemotherapy in the treatment of tuberculosis especially at a time when drug resistance is rampant, appears promising.
结核病由结核分枝杆菌引起，结核分枝杆菌是一种寄生于巨噬细胞内的病原体。细胞介导免疫（CMI）和迟发型超敏反应（DTH）在为宿主提供保护方面发挥着关键作用。最重要的细胞是CD4 T淋巴细胞，它根据所产生的细胞因子类型分为TH1和TH2亚群。TH1细胞产生细胞因子γ干扰素和白细胞介素-2，它们对于激活抗分枝杆菌活性很重要，并且是DTH反应所必需的。格兰奇认为，结核感染个体的免疫反应会“锁定”为一种或另一种反应模式，即TH1或TH2反应，后者会导致组织损伤和疾病进展。斯坦福及其同事对母牛分枝杆菌作为结核病免疫治疗药物的有效性进行了多项研究。它在人类中无致病性，被认为是一种强大的TH1佐剂。一系列小型研究表明，母牛分枝杆菌具有有益作用，现在有足够的证据表明，将其用作免疫治疗药物，作为结核病化疗的辅助手段，尤其是在耐药性猖獗的时候，似乎很有前景。
