Impaired neutrophil function in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and its normalization in those undergoing specific treatment, except the HIV-coinfected cases

Our study investigated whether the respiratory burst (RB) of polymorphonuclear neutrophils from tuberculosis (TB) patients was related with the disease severity or treatment, as well as the circulating levels of TNF-α. The sample comprised 57 patients with moderate (n=21) or advanced disease (n=36, 13 of them with HIV coinfection, TB–HIV) and 12 controls. Patients were newly diagnosed (n=27) or under treatment (moderate=14, advanced=10, TB–HIV=6). Cytometric analysis showed that untreated patients had a depressed RB in response to Candida albicans, being more pronounced in the advanced group and nearly absent in TB–HIV cases. A recovered RB was observed in treated patients, except for the TB–HIV cases that continued to show a poor response. TNF-α serum levels were increased in untreated patients, mostly in the advanced and TB–HIV groups, and showed an inverse and significant correlation with the RB. Disease severity and anti-TB therapy exerted negative and positive influences on the reactive oxygen intermediates production, respectively.