The occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in the same patient presents a unique clinical challenge. The impact of HCV infection on the immune response to TB remains poorly investigated in TB+/HCV+ patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of HCV on the T-cell-mediated immune response to TB in coinfected patients. Sixty-four patients with active TB infections were screened for coinfection with HCV. The expression of immune activation markers IFN-γ, CD38, and HLA-DR on TB-specific CD4+ T cells was evaluated by flow cytometry in TB-monoinfected patients, TB/HCV-coinfected patients, and healthy controls. IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 levels were measured using ELISA. The end-of-treatment response to anti-TB therapy was recorded for both patient groups. Significantly lower levels of CD4+IFN-γ+CD38+ and CD4+IFN-γ+HLA-DR+ T cells were detected in TB/HCV-coinfected patients compared to TB monoinfected patients and controls. TB+/HCV+-coinfected patients showed higher serum levels of IL-10. The baseline frequencies of TB-specific activated T-cell subsets did not predict the response to antituberculous therapy in TB+/HCV+ patients. We concluded that different subsets of TB-specific CD4+ T cells in TB/HCV-infected individuals are partially impaired in early-stage HCV infection. This was combined with increased serum IL-10 level. Such immune modulations may represent a powerful risk factor for disease progression in patients with HCV/TB coinfection.

中文翻译：

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丙型肝炎病毒影响HIV阴性患者的结核特异性T细胞。

同一患者中结核病（TB）和丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染的发生提出了独特的临床挑战。在TB + / HCV +患者中，HCV感染对结核病免疫反应的影响仍然缺乏研究。进行这项研究以评估HCV对合并感染患者的T细胞介导的针对TB的免疫反应的影响。筛查了64例活动性TB感染患者的HCV合并感染。通过流式细胞术评估了结核病单发感染的患者，结核病/ HCV合并感染的患者和健康对照者在结核特异性CD4 + T细胞上免疫激活标记IFN-γ，CD38和HLA-DR的表达。使用ELISA测量IL-2，IL-4，IFN-γ，TNF-α和IL-10水平。记录了两个患者组对抗结核治疗的治疗结束反应。与TB / HCV合并感染的患者和对照组相比，在TB / HCV合并感染的患者中检测到的CD4 +IFN-γ+ CD38 +和CD4 +IFN-γ+ HLA-DR + T细胞水平显着降低。TB + / HCV +合并感染的患者血清IL-10水平更高。TB + / HCV +患者中，TB特异性激活的T细胞亚群的基线频率不能预测对抗结核治疗的反应。我们得出的结论是，在早期HCV感染中，TB / HCV感染者中TB特异性CD4 + T细胞的不同亚群会部分受损。这与血清IL-10水平升高相结合。此类免疫调节可能代表HCV / TB合并感染患者疾病进展的强大危险因素。TB + / HCV +合并感染的患者血清IL-10水平更高。TB + / HCV +患者中，TB特异性激活的T细胞亚群的基线频率不能预测对抗结核治疗的反应。我们得出的结论是，在早期HCV感染中，TB / HCV感染者中TB特异性CD4 + T细胞的不同亚群会部分受损。这与血清IL-10水平升高相结合。此类免疫调节可能代表HCV / TB合并感染患者疾病进展的强大危险因素。TB + / HCV +合并感染的患者血清IL-10水平更高。结核病特异性激活的T细胞亚群的基线频率不能预测结核病+ / HCV +患者对抗结核治疗的反应。我们得出的结论是，在早期HCV感染中，TB / HCV感染者的TB特异性CD4 + T细胞的不同亚群会部分受损。这与血清IL-10水平升高相结合。此类免疫调节可能代表HCV / TB合并感染患者疾病进展的强大危险因素。这与血清IL-10水平升高相结合。此类免疫调节可能代表HCV / TB合并感染患者疾病进展的强大危险因素。这与血清IL-10水平升高相结合。此类免疫调节可能代表HCV / TB合并感染患者疾病进展的强大危险因素。