@Article{ecn.2017.0391,
AUTHOR = {Shima Mahmoudi, Babak Pourakbari, Setareh Mamishi},
TITLE = {Interferon Gamma Release Assay in response to PE35/PPE68 proteins: a promising diagnostic method for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {28},
YEAR = {2017},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {36--40},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v28n1/65527},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {Tuberculosis control relies on the identification and preventive treatment of people who are latently
infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). PE/PPE proteins have been reported to elicit CD4 and/or CD8
responses either in the form of whole recombinant proteins or as individual peptides. Very few of the PE and PPE
proteins have been previously tested for responses in patients with TB and healthy donors. This is the first study
to evaluate the Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) after stimulation with PE35 and PPE68. The antigen-specific
levels of IFN-γ following stimulation with QuantiFERON-TB gold in-tube (QFT-G-IT) antigens, and PE35
and PPE68 recombinant proteins were evaluated in 79 children and 102 adults, respectively. Using QFT-G-IT
kit, latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) was detected in 26 children (33%) and 41 adults (40%); IGRA following
stimulation with PE35 and PPE68 recombinant proteins, was positive, respectively, in 36 (46%) and 32 (40.5%)
children, respectively. In addition, 53 adults (52%) had positive results following stimulation with these two proteins.
The sensitivity and specificity of IGRA following stimulation with recombinant PE35 in children were 76% and 80%,
and following stimulation with recombinant PPE68 in this group, it was 73% and 75%, respectively. Meanwhile,
there is no gold standard test for LTBI. Our designed tests using PE35 and PPE68 PE/PPE proteins, two PE/PPE
proteins not present in BCG vaccins, which elicit CD4 and/or CD8 responses, might be helpful for rapid diagnosis
of TB and improve the detection of LTBI. However, further validation studies to determine the advantage of IGRAs
using these proteins, alone or combined, are highly recommended.},
DOI = {10.1684/ecn.2017.0391}
}