Antecedentes: El rol de los linfocitos T CD4 polifuncionales (Tpol) en tuberculosis latente de tuberculosis (LTBi) o HTLV-1 no está claramente definido. Objetivo: Describir la frecuencia de linfocitos Tpol en pacientes LTBi o HTLV-1. Métodos: Cinco pacientes con LTBi, 7 pacientes asintomáticos con HTLV-1 y 9 controles sanos fueron enrolados en este estudio. Células mononucleares de sangre periférica (PBMCs) de pacientes con LTBi fueron estimuladas con PPD. PBMCs de pacientes con HTLV-1 fueron estimuladas con PHA. Mediante citometría de flujo, se midió la frecuencia de Tpol productores de IFN-γ, TNF-α y/o IL-2. Resultados: Comparado con controles sanos, se observó una mayor frecuencia basal de linfocitos Tpol TNF-α+ IL-2+ en pacientes con HTLV-1 (0.0125% y 0.0006% respectivamente, p = 0.02). Tras estimulación con PPD, pacientes con LTBi presentaron mayor frecuencia de Tpol TNF-α+ IL-2+ (0.1086%) comparado con controles sanos (0.0292%) (p = 0.02). No se observó una diferencia significativa en la frecuencia total de linfocitos Tpol en pacientes HTLV-1 comparado con controles sanos (0.0217% y 0.0019% respectivamente, p = 0.06). Se encontró una diferencia significativa en la frecuencia total de linfocitos Tpol entre pacientes LTBi y controles sanos tras estimulación con PPD (0.3240% y 0.0810% respectivamente, p = 0.03). Conclusión: La mayor frecuencia de linfocitos Tpol en pacientes con LTBi indica un rol inflamatorio importante en la respuesta anti-tuberculosis, mediada principalmente por el subtipo TNF-α+ IL-2+. En pacientes con HTLV-1, la infección aumenta la frecuencia basal de Tpol sin afectar la capacidad de producción de citoquinas intracelulares.
Background: The role of polyfunctional T CD4 lymphocytes (Tpol) in latent tuberculosis infection (LTBi) or HTLV-1 has not yet been elucidated. Objective: Determine the frequency of Tpol lymphocytes in patients with LTBi or HTLV-1. Methods: Five patients with LTBi, 7 asymptomatic patients with HTLV-1 and 9 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from LTBi patients were stimulated with PPD. PBMCs from HTLV-1 patients were stimulated with PHA. Frequencies of IFN-γ, TNF-α and/or IL-2-producing Tpol were assessed by flow cytometry. Results: There was a higher basal frequency of TNF-α+ IL-2+ Tpol in patients with HTLV-1 than in healthy controls (0.0125% and 0.0006% respectively, p = 0.02). There was a higher frequency of PPD-stimulated TNF-α+ IL-2+ Tpol in LTBi patients than in healthy controls (0.1086% and 0.0292% respectively, p = 0.02). There was no significant difference on overall Tpol frequency between HTLV-1 patients and healthy controls (0.0217% and 0.0019% respectively, p = 0.06). After PPD stimulation, overall Tpol frequency was significantly higher in LTBi patients than in healthy controls (0.3240% and 0.0810% respectively, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Higher Tpol frequency among LTBi patients suggests a key inflammatory role of this subset in anti-tuberculosis immune response, mediated mainly by the TNF-α+ IL-2+ subset. In patients with HTLV-1, viral infection induces a higher Tpol frequency without affecting production capacity of intracellular cytokines.
