The bacillary and macrophage response to hypoxia in tuberculosis and the consequences for T cell antigen recognition

M. tuberculosis is a facultative anaerobe and its characteristic pathological hallmark, the granuloma, exhibits hypoxia in humans and in most experimental models. Thus the host and bacillary adaptation to hypoxia is of central importance in understanding pathogenesis and thereby to derive new drug treatments and vaccines

Effect of prednisolone on inflammatory markers in pericardial tuberculosis: A pilot study

Background: Pericardial disorders are a common cause of heart disease, and the most common cause of pericarditis in developing countries is tuberculous (TB) pericarditis. It has been shown that prednisolone added to standard anti-TB therapy leads to a lower rate of constrictive pericarditis. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the effect of adjunctive prednisolone treatment on the concentration of inflammatory markers in pericardial tuberculosis, in order to inform immunological mechanisms at the disease site. Methods: Pericardial fluid, plasma and saliva samples were collected from fourteen patients with pericardial tuberculosis, at multiple time points. Inflammatory markers were measured using multiplex luminex analysis and ELISA. Results: In samples from 14 patients we confirmed a strongly compartmentalized immune response at the disease site and found that prednisolone significantly reduced IL-6 concentrations in plasma by 8 hours of treatment, IL-1beta concentrations in saliva, as well as IL-8 concentrations in both pericardial fluid and saliva by 24 hours. Conclusion: Monitoring the early effect of adjunctive immunotherapy in plasma or saliva is a possibility in pericarditis

Generating optimized Fourier interpolation routines for density function theory using SPIRAL

© 2015 IEEE.Upsampling of a multi-dimensional data-set is an operation with wide application in image processing and quantum mechanical calculations using density functional theory. For small up sampling factors as seen in the quantum chemistry code ONETEP, a time-shift based implementation that shifts samples by a fraction of the original grid spacing to fill in the intermediate values using a frequency domain Fourier property can be a good choice. Readily available highly optimized multidimensional FFT implementations are leveraged at the expense of extra passes through the entire working set. In this paper we present an optimized variant of the time-shift based up sampling. Since ONETEP handles threading, we address the memory hierarchy and SIMD vectorization, and focus on problem dimensions relevant for ONETEP. We present a formalization of this operation within the SPIRAL framework and demonstrate auto-generated and auto-tuned interpolation libraries. We compare the performance of our generated code against the previous best implementations using highly optimized FFT libraries (FFTW and MKL). We demonstrate speed-ups in isolation averaging 3x and within ONETEP of up to 15%

Plasma cytokine profiles in HIV-1 infected patients developing neuropathic symptoms shortly after commencing antiretroviral therapy: a case-control study

Abstract Background In patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) neuropathic symptoms may develop within weeks of starting combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). This timing coincides with the occurrence of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. Our objective was to investigate the longitudinal association of plasma cytokine and soluble receptor concentrations with incident neuropathic symptoms within 12 weeks of starting programme-based cART in a nested case-control study. Methods One hundred and twenty adults without neuropathic symptoms and about to initiate cART were followed longitudinally for 24 weeks after cART initiation. Subjects were examined for peripheral neuropathy at baseline (pre-cART) and 2-, 4-, 12- and 24 weeks thereafter. Individuals developing neuropathic symptoms within 12 weeks of starting cART were matched in a nested case-control design with those remaining symptom-free for at least 24 weeks. Plasma was collected at each visit. Cytokines and soluble receptors were quantified using multiplex immunometric assays. Results Incident neuropathic symptoms occurred in 32 (27%) individuals within 12 weeks of starting cART for the first time. Cytokine concentrations increased at 2 weeks, irrespective of symptom-status, returning to baseline concentrations at 12 weeks. Compared to the control group, the symptomatic group had higher baseline levels of interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R)-antagonist. The symptomatic group also showed greater increases in soluble interleukin-2 receptor-alpha and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-II levels at week 2 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor levels at week 12. Ratios of pro-inflammatory- vs anti-inflammatory cytokines were higher for TNF-alpha/IL-4 (p = 0.022) and interferon-gamma/IL-10 (p = 0.044) in those developing symptoms. After 24 weeks of cART, the symptomatic group showed higher CD4+ counts (p = 0.002). Conclusions The initiation of cART in previously treatment naïve individuals was associated with a cytokine 'burst’ between 2- and 4 weeks compared with pre-cART levels. Individuals developing neuropathic symptoms within 12 weeks of starting cART showed evidence of altered cytokine concentrations even prior to initiating cART, most notably higher circulating IL-1R-antagonist levels, and altered ratios of “pain-associated” cytokine and soluble receptors shortly after cART initiation

Tuberculosis Antigen-Specific T-Cell Responses During the First 6 Months of Antiretroviral Treatment

The reconstitution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-antigen-specific CD4 T cells in a cohort of HIV-infected persons starting antiretroviral treatment (ART) in high TB endemic area is described. Restoration of the antigen-specific CD4 T cell subsets mirrored the overall CD4 T cell compartment. Activation (assessed by HLA-DR expression) decreased during ART but remained elevated compared to HIV-uninfected persons. Despite known Mtb sensitisation determined by IGRA, 12/23 participants had no Mtb-specific CD4 T cells detectable by flow cytometry, combined with overall elevated T cell activation and memory differentiation, suggesting heightened turnover. Our data suggest early ART initiation to maintain polyfunctional immune memory responses

Immune interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are major infectious causes of death, with meta-analyses and population-based studies finding increased mortality in co-infected patients simultaneously diagnosed with COVID-19 and tuberculosis (TB). There is a need to understand the immune interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb which impacts poor outcomes for those co-infected. We performed a PubMed and preprint search using keywords [SARS-CoV-2] AND [tuberculosis] AND [Immune response], including publications after January 2020, excluding reviews or opinions. Abstracts were evaluated by authors for inclusion of data specifically investigating the innate and/or acquired immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb in humans and animal models, immunopathological responses in co-infection and both trials and investigations of potential protection against SARS-CoV-2 by Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG). Of the 248 articles identified, 39 were included. Incidence of co-infection is discussed, considering in areas with a high burden of TB, where reported co-infection is likely underestimated. We evaluated evidence of the clinical association between COVID-19 and TB, discuss differences and similarities in immune responses in humans and in murine studies, and the implications of co-infection. SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb have both been shown to modulate immune responses, particularly of monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and T cells. Co-infection may result in impaired immunity to SARS-CoV-2, with an exacerbated inflammatory response, while T cell responses to Mtb may be modulated by SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, there has been no proven potential COVID-19 clinical benefit of BCG despite numerous large-scale clinical trials

Biomarkers of cerebral injury and inflammation in pediatric tuberculous meningitis

Background Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) leads to death or disability in half the affected individuals. Tools to assess severity and predict outcome are lacking. Neuro-specific biomarkers could serve as markers of the severity and evolution of brain injury, but have not been widely explored in TBM. We examined biomarkers of neurological injury (neuromarkers) and inflammation in pediatric TBM and their association with outcome. Methods Blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with TBM and hydrocephalus taken on admission and over 3 weeks were analysed for neuromarkers S100B, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and multiple inflammatory markers. Results were compared with 2 control groups; patients with 1) a fatty filum (abnormal filum terminale of the spinal cord), and 2) pulmonary tuberculosis (pTB). Imaging was conducted on admission and at 3 weeks. Outcome was assessed at 6 months. Results Data were collected from 44 TBM cases (median age 3.3 [0.3–13.1] years), 11 fatty filum (median age 2.8 [0.8–8] years) and 9 pTB controls (median age 3.7 [1.3–11.8] years). Seven cases (16%) died and 16 (36%) had disabilities. Neuromarkers and inflammatory markers were elevated in CSF on admission and for up to 3 weeks, but not in serum. Initial and highest concentrations in week 1 of S100B and NSE were associated with poor outcome, as were highest concentration overall and an increasing profile over time in S100B, NSE and GFAP. Combined neuromarker concentrations increased over time in patients who died, whereas inflammatory markers decreased. Cerebral infarcts were associated with highest overall neuromarker concentrations and an increasing profile over time. Tuberculomas were associated with elevated IL-12p40, IP-10 and MCP-1 concentrations, whereas infarcts were associated with elevated TNF-α, MIP-1α, IL-6 and IL-8. Conclusion CSF neuromarkers are promising biomarkers of injury severity and are predictive of mortality. An increasing trend suggested ongoing brain injury, even though markers of inflammation declined with treatment. These findings could offer novel insight into the pathophysiology of TBM

The immunopathogenesis of tuberculous pericarditis

Tuberculous pericarditis is a severe form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and is the commonest cause of pericardial effusion in high incidence settings. Mortality ranges between 8 and 34%, and it is the leading cause of pericardial constriction in Africa and Asia. Current understanding of the disease is based on models derived from studies performed in the 1940–50s. This review summarises recent advances in the histology, microbiology and immunology of tuberculous pericarditis, with special focus on the effect of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the determinants of constriction