Concomitant parasite infections influence tuberculosis immunopathology and favor rapid sputum conversion of pulmonary tuberculosis patients
Immunopathology of human tuberculosis (TB) in a subgroup of patients is characterized by aberrantly high concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, for example Interleukin (IL)-6. Concomitant (co-)infections by parasites can affect host immunity, but the impact on immunopathology in TB patients is poorly defined. Here we characterized a group of patients with TB ( n = 76) from Ghana with different protozoan and helminth co-infections. Plasma cytokines were measured at the onset of disease and anti-mycobacterial treatment efficacy was monitored during disease course. A subgroup of TB patients had co-infections with protozoan (n = 19) or helminth (n = 16) parasites. Plasma analyses for candidate cytokines identified lower levels of IL-6 in parasite co-infected patients with TB. Moreover, it took less time for co-infected patients to become sputum-negative for Mycobacterium tuberculosis during treatment. These results indicated an influence of parasite co-infections on immunopathology in TB and suggested positive effects on treatment efficacy.
Authors
- Linda Batsa Debrah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9620-3408)
- Julia Seyfarth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1478-1496)
- Augustine Yeboah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6271-352X)
- Amidu Gawusu
- Marc Jacobsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4703-5652)
- Dorcas Owusu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4299-5870)
- Difery Minadzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4025-9757)
- Isaac Acheampong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6065-3594)
- Alexander Yaw Debrah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5721-0891)
- Francis Osei‐Yeboah
- Richard Odame Phillips (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8992-0222)
- Francis Kumbel
- M Vivekanandan
- Millicent Lamptey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8422-4850)
- Ertan Mayatepek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8460-3738)
- Joseph F. Arthur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2223-7610)
- Ernest Adankwah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5710-7325)
- Wilfred Aniagyei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4706-0046)
- Mohammed K. Abass
Institutions
- Catholic University College of Ghana (GH)
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (GH)
- Presbyterian University, Ghana (GH)
- Düsseldorf University Hospital (DE)
- Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (GH)
- Ghana Health Service (GH)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials
- Published
- 2024-11-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12941-024-00756-6
- Primary Topic
- Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft