IL-18 and related function proteins associated with tuberculosis severity and screening for active TB among patients with non-mycobacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)

Sebastian Wawrocki; Michal Seweryn; Grzegorz Kielnierowski; Wieslawa Rudnicka; Magdalena Druszczynska

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.09.003

IL-18 and related function proteins associated with tuberculosis severity and screening for active TB among patients with non-mycobacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2020 Nov;27(11):3035-3045. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.09.003. Epub 2020 Sep 8.

Authors

Sebastian Wawrocki¹, Michal Seweryn², Grzegorz Kielnierowski³, Wieslawa Rudnicka¹, Magdalena Druszczynska¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Institute of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland.
² Biobank Lab, Department of Molecular Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland.
³ Regional Specialized Hospital of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases, and Rehabilitation, Szpitalna 5, 95-080 Tuszyn, Poland.

Abstract

Background: Differentiation of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) from non-mycobacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) still remains a diagnostic challenge.

Objective: The study aimed to quantify the IL-18, IFN-γ, IL-18BP, IL-37, and IP-10 levels in serum and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) antigens-stimulated blood cultures from TB or CAP patients and explore if the proteins can be a useful basis for discriminating these diseases.

Methods: In total, 124 Polish adults, including mild/moderate (M/MTB) or advanced (ATB) TB patients, and CAP patients, were enrolled in the study. The concentrations of IL-18, IL-18BP, IFN-γ, IL-37, and IP-10 in sera and M.tb-stimulated cultures were measured by ELISA.

Results: The most specific and sensitive serum proteins discriminating TB from CAP were IP-10 and IL-18BP; however, IP-10 had the highest AUC in the ROC curve for the diagnosis. Serum IP-10 and IL-18BP levels increased significantly in M/MTB or ATB groups. The IL-18BP elevation in ATB group was accompanied by an increase in IL-18. No single protein measured in M.tb-stimulated cultures differed TB from CAP patients.

Conclusions: The combined analysis of serum IL-18BP and IP-10 might be considered as an auxiliary tool in the differentiation of TB from CAP.

Keywords: Community-acquired pneumonia; IL-18; IL-18BP; IP-10; Tuberculosis.