Lutzky, Viviana P., Ratnatunga, Champa N., Smith, Daniel J., Kupz, Andreas, Doolan, Denise, Reid, David W., Thomson, Rachel M., Bell, Scott B., and Miles, John J. (2018) Anomalies in T cell function are associated with individuals at risk of Mycobacterium abscessus complex infection. Frontiers in Immunology, 9. 1319.

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Abstract

The increasing global incidence and prevalence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection is of growing concern. New evidence of person-to-person transmission of multidrug-resistant NTM adds to the global concern. The reason why certain individuals are at risk of NTM infections is unknown. Using high definition flow cytometry, we studied the immune profiles of two groups that are at risk of Mycobacterium abscessus complex infection and matched controls. The first group was cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and the second group was elderly individuals. CF individuals with active M. abscessus complex infection or a history of M. abscessus complex infection exhibited a unique surface T cell phenotype with a marked global deficiency in TNFα production during mitogen stimu- lation. Importantly, immune-based signatures were identified that appeared to predict at baseline the subset of CF individuals who were at risk of M. abscessus complex infection. In contrast, elderly individuals with M. abscessus complex infection exhibited a separate T cell phenotype underlined by the presence of exhaustion markers and dysregulation in type 1 cytokine release during mitogen stimulation. Collectively, these data suggest an association between T cell signatures and individuals at risk of M. abscessus complex infection, however, validation of these immune anomalies as robust biomarkers will require analysis on larger patient cohorts.

Item ID:	56624
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1664-3224
Keywords:	non-tuberculous mycobacteria, cystic fibrosis, immunoprofiling, pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria infection, T cells
Copyright Information:	Copyright: © 2018 Lutzky, Ratnatunga, Smith, Kupz, Doolan, Reid, Thomson, Bell and Miles. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Funders:	National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), QIMR Berghofer (QIMRB), Queensland Health (QH)
Projects and Grants:	NHMRC 1131732, QIMRB Clinician Research Collaboration Award, QH Fellowship
Date Deposited:	17 Dec 2018 02:38
FoR Codes:	32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3204 Immunology > 320499 Immunology not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920109 Infectious Diseases @ 100%
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