RESUMEN
SETTING: It is generally accepted that antibodies do not protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, as this role relies upon T-cell reactivity. Hence, most studies on antimycobacterial antibodies have been aimed at developing serologic tests, and few explore their role in disease pathogenesis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the IgG antimycobacterial antibody response of 55 Mexican Totonaca Indians with pulmonary tuberculosis and its correlation with some features of the disease. DESIGN: Study of the profile of antigen recognition by immunoblot and ELISA with isolated antigen 85 complex (Ag85) and whole culture filtrate proteins. Correlation of immunoblot and ELISA results with BCG vaccination, tuberculin reactivity, extent of the disease, clinical setting, and response to treatment. RESULTS: On immunoblot, band reactivity was very poor and the most frequently recognized antigen was the 30-32 kDa, antigen 85 complex (45.8% of serum samples). ELISA with this antigen showed a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 100%. Positive antibody titers to Ag85 were observed in 79.4% of patients with non-cavitary tuberculosis (P = 0.012) and in 95.8% of patients who were cured with anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy (P = 0.0001). By contrast, an antibody response to whole culture filtrate antigens had no correlation with the presence of cavitations or with prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that an antibody response to Ag85, aside from having great potential to develop a serologic test for tuberculosis, was associated with a positive outcome in a cohort of tuberculous Mexican Indians.
Asunto(s)
Aciltransferasas/inmunología , Antígenos Bacterianos/inmunología , Inmunoglobulina G/inmunología , Indígenas Norteamericanos , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/inmunología , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/inmunología , Adulto , Formación de Anticuerpos , Vacuna BCG , Ensayo de Inmunoadsorción Enzimática , Femenino , Humanos , Immunoblotting , Masculino , México , Estudios Prospectivos , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/etnologíaRESUMEN
By Western blotting, we demonstrate high-level expression of NRAMP1 proteins in peripheral blood cells and granulomas of Mycobacterium bovis-infected bovines. Immunohistochemistry of granulomatous lesions showed heavily labeled epithelioid macrophages and Langhans cells. These data suggest that M. bovis infection enhances NRAMP1 expression and that active tuberculosis can occur despite this response.
Asunto(s)
Granuloma/sangre , Mycobacterium bovis/inmunología , Tuberculosis Bovina/sangre , Animales , Bovinos , Granuloma/inmunología , Granuloma/patología , Leucocitos Mononucleares/inmunología , Ganglios Linfáticos/inmunología , Ganglios Linfáticos/patología , Tuberculosis Bovina/inmunología , Tuberculosis Bovina/patologíaRESUMEN
A case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the liver in a 38-year-old male patient is informed. We could only find 13 cases reported in the literature, all of them in male patients; in the Mexican literature this histologic type of hepatic neoplasia has not been reported. The prognosis of these lesions are extremely poor, and no case has survived over six months.