Correlation of tuberculin skin reaction with lymphocyte proliferation, interferon-gamma production and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production after in vitro stimulation with PPD and killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis using peripheral blood of healthy donors]

The quantitative relationships among the in vitro lymphocyte proliferation in peripheral blood in 19 healthy donors to purified protein derivative (PPD) and the killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis, interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) production in these culture supernatants, and the in vivo skin reaction to PPD which were simultaneously measured were studied. Statistical analysis was performed with t-test and multiple regression analysis: The results obtained were as follows; 1) The magnitude of the in vitro lymphocyte proliferation by PPD and the killed M. tuberculosis failed to correlate with the erythema and the induration of the in vivo skin reaction to PPD. 2) The erythema of skin test correlates with TNF alpha production in the culture supernatants that the lymphocytes in peripheral blood were cocultured with these antigens for 7 days. (R = 0.566062, 0.01 less than p less than 0.02) 3) There is a correlation between the erythema and the induration of skin test. (R = 0.526662, 0.02 less than p less than 0.05). 4) Though the magnitude of the lymphocyte proliferation to PPD correlates IFN gamma production in the culture supernatants (R = 0.525915, 0.02 less than p less than 0.05), these response to the killed M. tuberculosis correlates both IFN gamma production (R = 0.55049, 0.01 less than p less than 0.02) and TNF alpha production (R = 0.51283, 0.02 less than p less than 0.05) in the culture supernatants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)