• Fredrik Oftung and Abu Salim Mustafa.
• Section for Immunology, Department of Method Development and Analytics, Division of Infectious Disease Control, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
• Med Princ Pract. 2024 Oct 30: 191-9.

ObjectiveIn this study, we have mapped the relative importance of well-defined recombinantly expressed Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in the T-cell recognition repertoire of latently infected individuals not progressing to active disease.Materials And MethodsPeripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy latently infected long-term non-progressors were screened for antigen-induced proliferation and Th1 cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) responses.ResultsThe panel of antigens tested showed a clear spectrum of responsiveness and lead to the identification of a subgroup of frequently recognized antigens (MPT59, CFP7, CFP10, CFP21, TB37.6/PPE68, ESAT-6, MPT51, and DnaK) with a high cellular response level as measured in both proliferation and IFN-γ assays. Among a subgroup of antigens also screened for responses in tuberculosis patients, CFP21 was identified as differentially recognized in non-progressors. For both cellular assays, we found a positive correlation between responder frequency and magnitude of response. A significant correlation between the level of antigen-specific proliferation and INF-γ secretion was also observed.ConclusionWe have identified a defined set of M. tuberculosis antigens frequently recognized by T cells at a high response level from latently infected long-term non-progressors which warrant further investigation for a potential role in immune regulation and protection against progression to active disease.© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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