The source of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific IFN-γ production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of TB patients

•CD4+, CD8+ T cells and NK cells are all major Mtb-specific IFN-γ producers in TB.•CD8+ T cells are the most Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing cells in HIV/TB patients.•Mtb-specific antigen stimulation in vitro increases NK cell activity of TB patients.•CD45RO is the characteristic marker of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing T cells.•Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing NK cells have a high expression of CD11a.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific IFN-γ secretion plays important roles in anti-tuberculosis (TB) immunity. Mtb-specific IFN-γ response can be induced in HIV/TB co-infected patients with a low CD4 lymphocyte count; this suggests that the source of Mtb-specific IFN-γ production is not limited in CD4+ T lymphocytes. Currently, the major sources of Mtb-specific IFN-γ production and the function and phenotype of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing cells still remain unclear. Thirty-nine participants (24 active TB patients, 10 HIV/TB co-infected patients, and 5 healthy volunteers) were recruited according to conventional tests and Mtb-specific IFN-γ ELISPOT assay. Multicolor flow cytometry was used to investigate the production of intracellular IFN-γ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after Mtb-specific antigen stimulation. Our results showed that CD4+, CD8+ T cells and NK cells are all major sources of Mtb-specific IFN-γ production in PBMCs of TB patients. Moreover, CD8+ T cells are the highest number of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing cells in HIV/TB co-infected patients. Although the activity of NK cells is significantly reduced in TB patients when compared with healthy controls, Mtb-specific antigen stimulation induces a significant increase in NK cell activity. We also showed that CD45RO is the characteristic marker of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing T cells but not that of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing NK cells in peripheral blood. High expression of CD11a may be the characteristic feature of Mtb-specific IFN-γ-producing NK cells. This study put forward a new insight on the source of antigen-specific IFN-γ-production in PBMCs of TB patients.