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No impact of helminth coinfection in patients with smear positive tuberculosis on immunoglobulin levels using a novel method measuring Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antibodies

Pushpamithran, Giggil ; Skoglund, Camilla ; Olsson, Fanny ; Méndez-Aranda, Melissa ; Schön, Thomas ; Segelmark, Mårten LU ; Stendahl, Olle ; Gilman, Robert H. and Blomgran, Robert (2023) In Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology 19(1).
Abstract

Helminth/tuberculosis (TB)-coinfection can reduce cell-mediated immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and increase disease severity, although the effects are highly helminth species dependent. Mtb have long been ranked as the number one single infectious agent claiming the most lives. The only licensed vaccine for TB (BCG) offers highly variable protection against TB, and almost no protection against transmission of Mtb. In recent few years the identification of naturally occurring antibodies in humans that are protective during Mtb infection has reignited the interest in adaptive humoral immunity against TB and its possible implementation in novel TB vaccine design. The effects of helminth/TB coinfection on the humoral... (More)

Helminth/tuberculosis (TB)-coinfection can reduce cell-mediated immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and increase disease severity, although the effects are highly helminth species dependent. Mtb have long been ranked as the number one single infectious agent claiming the most lives. The only licensed vaccine for TB (BCG) offers highly variable protection against TB, and almost no protection against transmission of Mtb. In recent few years the identification of naturally occurring antibodies in humans that are protective during Mtb infection has reignited the interest in adaptive humoral immunity against TB and its possible implementation in novel TB vaccine design. The effects of helminth/TB coinfection on the humoral response against Mtb during active pulmonary TB are however still unclear, and specifically the effect by globally prevalent helminth species such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, Ancylostoma duodenale, Trichuris trichiura. Plasma samples from smear positive TB patients were used to measure both total and Mtb-specific antibody responses in a Peruvian endemic setting where these helminths are dominating. Mtb-specific antibodies were detected by a novel approach coating ELISA-plates with a Mtb cell-membrane fraction (CDC1551) that contains a broad range of Mtb surface proteins. Compared to controls without helminths or TB, helminth/TB coinfected patients had high levels of Mtb-specific IgG (including an IgG1 and IgG2 subclass response) and IgM, which were similarly increased in TB patients without helminth infection. These data, indicate that helminth/TB coinfected have a sustained humoral response against Mtb at the level of active TB only. More studies on the species-specific impact of helminths on the adaptive humoral response against Mtb using a larger sample size, and in relation to TB disease severity, are needed.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Active pulmonary TB, Adaptive humoral immune response, Helminth coinfection, Mtb-specific IgG IgA IgM, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
in
Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology
volume
19
issue
1
article number
55
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:37386541
  • scopus:85163778383
ISSN
1710-1484
DOI
10.1186/s13223-023-00808-0
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ba42b8fe-fdee-447a-a0ac-4d746018a74a
date added to LUP
2023-08-28 13:30:07
date last changed
2024-04-20 02:04:36
@article{ba42b8fe-fdee-447a-a0ac-4d746018a74a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Helminth/tuberculosis (TB)-coinfection can reduce cell-mediated immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and increase disease severity, although the effects are highly helminth species dependent. Mtb have long been ranked as the number one single infectious agent claiming the most lives. The only licensed vaccine for TB (BCG) offers highly variable protection against TB, and almost no protection against transmission of Mtb. In recent few years the identification of naturally occurring antibodies in humans that are protective during Mtb infection has reignited the interest in adaptive humoral immunity against TB and its possible implementation in novel TB vaccine design. The effects of helminth/TB coinfection on the humoral response against Mtb during active pulmonary TB are however still unclear, and specifically the effect by globally prevalent helminth species such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, Ancylostoma duodenale, Trichuris trichiura. Plasma samples from smear positive TB patients were used to measure both total and Mtb-specific antibody responses in a Peruvian endemic setting where these helminths are dominating. Mtb-specific antibodies were detected by a novel approach coating ELISA-plates with a Mtb cell-membrane fraction (CDC1551) that contains a broad range of Mtb surface proteins. Compared to controls without helminths or TB, helminth/TB coinfected patients had high levels of Mtb-specific IgG (including an IgG1 and IgG2 subclass response) and IgM, which were similarly increased in TB patients without helminth infection. These data, indicate that helminth/TB coinfected have a sustained humoral response against Mtb at the level of active TB only. More studies on the species-specific impact of helminths on the adaptive humoral response against Mtb using a larger sample size, and in relation to TB disease severity, are needed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Pushpamithran, Giggil and Skoglund, Camilla and Olsson, Fanny and Méndez-Aranda, Melissa and Schön, Thomas and Segelmark, Mårten and Stendahl, Olle and Gilman, Robert H. and Blomgran, Robert}},
  issn         = {{1710-1484}},
  keywords     = {{Active pulmonary TB; Adaptive humoral immune response; Helminth coinfection; Mtb-specific IgG IgA IgM; Mycobacterium tuberculosis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology}},
  title        = {{No impact of helminth coinfection in patients with smear positive tuberculosis on immunoglobulin levels using a novel method measuring Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antibodies}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13223-023-00808-0}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13223-023-00808-0}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}