T Cells Corresponding with Tuberculosis Drug Cure

Biomarkers predicting tuberculosis treatment response and cure would facilitate drug development. This study investigated expression patterns of the co-stimulation molecule NKG2D in human tuberculosis and treatment to determine its potential usefulness as a host biomarker of tuberculosis drug efficacy. Protein expression of NKG2D and granzyme B was measured by flow cytometry. T cell protein expression, but then reverted to higher levels after the continuation phase in successfully treated patients. followed by the response to dead bacilli, antigen-release and finally immunopathology resolution. Such changes in host peripheral gene expression, alongside clinical and microbiological indices, could be developed into a biosignature of tuberculosis drug-induced cure to be used in future clinical trials