Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, PR China; Army Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory, Institute for Tuberculosis Research, The 309th Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100091, PR China; Department of Pathology, The 309th Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100091, PR China.
Army Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory, Institute for Tuberculosis Research, The 309th Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100091, PR China.
J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2015 Aug;48(4):381-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jmii.2014.02.006. Epub 2014 Apr 22.
The latency-associated antigen Rv2659c is a starvation-related protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). It has potential use in tuberculosis (TB) control, but its immunological characteristics in Chinese populations are unclear.
In this study, immunological characteristics and potential diagnostic use of recombinant Rv2659c protein were assessed. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was assayed by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) in TB patients (80 cases), individuals who were purified protein derivative (PPD)-positive after Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination (27 cases), nontuberculous respiratory disease patients (30 cases), individuals who were identified by standard techniques as having latent TB infection (LTBI) (37 cases), and uninfected healthy individuals (75 cases). Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in TB patients (43 cases), LTBI individuals (36 cases) and uninfected healthy individuals (66 cases).
When stimulated by rRv2659c, PBMC from LTBI individuals gave ELISPOT counts that were significantly higher than those from TB patients, BCG vaccinated individuals, non-TB respiratory disease patients and uninfected healthy individuals (p < 0.05). The rRv2659c stimulation gave detectable IFN-γ production in a higher proportion of persons with LTBI compared with TB patients and uninfected healthy individuals. BCG vaccination and non-TB respiratory disease had little influence on the PBMC response to rRv2659c. The levels of serum IgG specific for rRv2659c were not significantly different between LTBI individuals and TB patients (p > 0.05).
These results suggest that rRv2659c has potential for the diagnosis of LTBI. This is the first clinical report of human immune recognition of Rv2659c in Chinese populations.
潜伏相关抗原 Rv2659c 是结核分枝杆菌（M. tuberculosis）的一种饥饿相关蛋白。它在结核病（TB）控制方面具有潜在用途，但在中国人群中的免疫学特征尚不清楚。
本研究评估了重组 Rv2659c 蛋白的免疫学特征和潜在诊断用途。通过酶联免疫斑点（ELISPOT）检测结核患者（80 例）、BCG 接种后纯化蛋白衍生物（PPD）阳性者（27 例）、非结核性呼吸道疾病患者（30 例）、标准技术鉴定的潜伏性结核感染（LTBI）个体（37 例）和未感染健康个体（75 例）外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）产生的干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）。通过酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测结核患者（43 例）、LTBI 个体（36 例）和未感染健康个体（66 例）血清 IgG 水平。
rRv2659c 刺激时，LTBI 个体的 PBMC 产生的 ELISPOT 计数明显高于 TB 患者、BCG 接种者、非结核性呼吸道疾病患者和未感染健康个体（p<0.05）。与 TB 患者和未感染健康个体相比，rRv2659c 刺激可检测到更高比例的 LTBI 个体产生 IFN-γ。BCG 接种和非结核性呼吸道疾病对 rRv2659c 刺激的 PBMC 反应影响不大。LTBI 个体和 TB 患者的 rRv2659c 特异性血清 IgG 水平无显著差异（p>0.05）。
这些结果表明 rRv2659c 具有 LTBI 诊断的潜力。这是中国人群中 Rv2659c 人类免疫识别的首次临床报告。
