Plasma Levels of Cytokines (IL-10) in Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis– A literature review

Objective: Interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) play very important roles in anti-TB cell-mediated immunity, in both MDR-TB and drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) patients. Method: The databases used were PubMed and ScienceDirect. The keywords for the search were “Interleukin-10” AND “MDR-TB”. The inclusion criteria was review articles and research articles published between January 2015 until August 2020 in free full text English. Results: IL-10 plays an important role in suppressing macrophage and dendritic cell (DC) function, which helps control and initiate the immune responses. IL-10, which is a suppressor T cell or T-regulatory cytokine, is known to play a critical role during chronic and latent stages of pulmonary TB [53]. The IL-10 production is said to be elevated during the infection, promoting reactivation of TB [54]. The excessive production of this cytokine usually results in failure to control the infection, and this could account for why IL-10 was levated in the MDR-TB participants. Conclusions: IL-10 production in MDR-TB might also indicate suppression of the immune response, leading to an inadequate balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines.