Characterization of Th1- and Th2-type immune response in human multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has become a lethal global threat. Insights into the immune regulation of MDR-TB are urgently needed for the development of new treatments; however, the T cell response to an MDR-TB infection in human remains unclear. In the present study, the proportion of Th1 and Th2 cell subsets and the level of related T cell subset cytokines in peripheral blood were investigated. We detected that an MDR-TB infection resulted in suppressed Th1 and Th2 cell activation, which was more remarkable in patients with MDR-TB than that in drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS-TB) sufferers when compared to healthy controls (HCs). In addition, MDR-TB infection down-regulated the expression of IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-10, and up-regulated IL-4, IL-6, and TNF-α expression. Our data suggest that the disturbance between protective and pathogenic effects induced by the immunosuppression of Th1- and Th2-type responses is a substantial characteristic of MDR-TB infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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