BACKGROUND Pro-inflammatory cytokines are markers of disease severity and bacterial burden in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). However, the association of Type 2, regulatory and other anti-inflammatory cytokines with disease severity and bacterial burden in PTB is not well understood. AIMS/METHODOLOGY To examine the association of anti-inflammatory cytokines with PTB, we examined the plasma levels of Type 2 (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13), regulatory (IL-10, TGFβ) and other anti-inflammatory (IL-19, IL-27, IL-37) cytokines in individuals with PTB, latent TB (LTB) or healthy controls (HC). We also examined the plasma levels of these cytokines in PTB individuals following anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT). RESULTS PTB individuals exhibited significantly higher plasma levels of IL-4, IL-13, IL-10, IL-19 and IL-27 in comparison to LTB and HC individuals and of TGFβ in comparison to HC individuals. In contrast, PTB individuals exhibited significantly lower plasma levels of IL-5 and IL-37 in comparison to both LTB and HC individuals. PTB individuals with bilateral or cavitary disease did not exhibit significantly different plasma levels of these cytokines in comparison to those with unilateral or non-cavitary disease nor did the cytokines exhibit any significant relationship with bacterial burdens. Finally, following ATT, the plasma levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 were significantly decreased, while the plasma levels of IL-13 and IL-37 were significantly increased in PTB individuals. CONCLUSION Therefore, our data demonstrate that PTB is associated with altered levels of Type 2, regulatory and other anti-inflammatory cytokines, some of which are altered followed chemotherapy. Our data also reveal that anti-inflammatory cytokines are not markers of disease severity or bacterial burden in PTB. Elevations in anti-inflammatory cytokines might help prevent the detrimental effects of pro-inflammatory responses in PTB.

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肺结核中抗炎细胞因子的全身水平升高和抗结核治疗后的改变

背景促炎细胞因子是肺结核（PTB）疾病严重程度和细菌负荷的标志物。然而，PTB 中 2 型、调节性和其他抗炎细胞因子与疾病严重程度和细菌负荷之间的关系尚不清楚。目的/方法学 为了检查抗炎细胞因子与 PTB 的关联，我们检查了 2 型（IL-4、IL-5、IL-13）、调节性（IL-10、TGFβ）和其他抗炎细胞因子的血浆水平。 （IL-19、IL-27、IL-37）细胞因子在患有 PTB、潜伏性 TB (LTB) 或健康对照 (HC) 的个体中。我们还检查了抗结核治疗 (ATT) 后 PTB 个体中这些细胞因子的血浆水平。结果 PTB 个体的血浆 IL-4、IL-13、IL-10、IL-19 和 IL-27 与 LTB 和 HC 个体的比较以及 TGFβ 与 HC 个体的比较。相比之下，与 LTB 和 HC 个体相比，PTB 个体的 IL-5 和 IL-37 血浆水平显着降低。与单侧或非空洞疾病患者相比，患有双侧或空洞疾病的 PTB 个体没有表现出这些细胞因子的血浆水平显着不同，细胞因子也没有表现出与细菌负荷的任何显着关系。最后，在 ATT 后，PTB 个体的血浆 IL-4、IL-5 和 IL-10 水平显着降低，而血浆 IL-13 和 IL-37 水平显着升高。结论因此，我们的数据表明，PTB 与 2 型、调节性和其他抗炎细胞因子的水平改变有关，其中一些在化疗后发生改变。我们的数据还表明，抗炎细胞因子不是 PTB 中疾病严重程度或细菌负荷的标志物。抗炎细胞因子的升高可能有助于防止 PTB 中促炎反应的不利影响。