Exploring cytokine dynamics in tuberculosis: A comparative analysis of patients and controls with insights from three-week antituberculosis intervention

Despite developing new diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines, treating tuberculosis (TB) remains challenging. Monitoring inflammatory markers can contribute to more precise diagnostics of TB, identifying its active and latent forms, or monitoring its treatment success. We assessed alterations in plasma levels of 48 cytokines in 20 patients (17 males) with active pulmonary TB compared to age-matched healthy controls (n = 18). Blood samples were collected from individuals hospitalised with TB prior to commencing antibiotic therapy, after the first week, and following the third week. The majority of patients received treatment with a combination of four first-line antituberculosis drugs: rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. Plasmatic cytokine levels from patients three times and controls were analyzed using a Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine Screening Panel. The results showed significantly higher levels of 31 cytokines (p<0.05) than healthy controls. Three-week therapy duration showed significantly decreased levels of nine cytokines: interferon alpha-2 (IFN-α2), interleukin (IL) 1 alpha (IL-1α), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 p40, IL-17, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Out of these, only levels of IL-1α and IL-6 remained significantly elevated compared to controls. Moreover, we have found a negative correlation of 18 cytokine levels with BMI of the patients but no correlation with age. Our results showed a clinical potential for monitoring the levels of specific inflammatory markers after a short treatment duration. The reduction in cytokine levels throughout the course of therapy could indicate treatment success but should be confirmed in studies with more individuals involved and a longer observation period.