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Circulating interleukin-18 and osteopontin are useful to evaluate disease activity in patients with tuberculosis.

Inomata S, Shijubo N, Kon S, Maeda M, Yamada G, Sato N, Abe S, Uede T

Third Department of Internal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Japan.

BACKGROUND: T helper type 1 (Th1) responses have been implicated in the protective immunity, pathophysiology and development of tuberculosis. However, it is still unclear which molecule(s) reflect disease activity in patients with tuberculosis. METHODS: By specific enzyme immunoassays, circulating interferon-gamma. (IFN-gamma), interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-18 and osteopontin (OPN) were measured in 47 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 7 patients with miliary tuberculosis before anti-tuberculosis therapy, and also measured in 19 patients with tuberculosis before and after anti-tuberculosis therapy. RESULTS: Circulating IFN-gamma, IL-18 and OPN levels were significantly higher in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis than in healthy controls, while there was no significant difference in levels of circulating IL-12 between tuberculosis patients and controls. Circulating IFN-gamma, IL-12, IL-18 and OPN paralleled the extent of lung lesions, and circulating IFN-gamma, IL-18 and OPN paralleled the magnitude of fever in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Patients with miliary tuberculosis had extremely high levels of circulating OPN, IFN-gamma and IL-18. Circulating IL-18 and OPN were significantly decreased with anti-tuberculosis therapy, whereas circulating IL-12 and IFN-gamma were not. CONCLUSIONS: Among Th1 response associated molecules, circulating levels of IL-18 and OPN, but not IFN-gamma or IL-12, reflect disease activity in patients with tuberculosis.

Published 2 May 2005 in Cytokine, 30(4): 203-11.
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