QuantiFERON-TB supernatant-based biomarkers predicting active tuberculosis progression

Background Despite the higher specificity and reliability of detecting latent tuberculosis (TB) infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific interferon (IFN)-γ release assays do not perform satisfactorily in predicting the risk of active TB (ATB) development. It is crucial to identify new biomarkers with high predictive accuracy to identify individuals bearing a high risk of progression. Methods This was a sub-study of an open-label, randomized clinical trial for prevention of TB in silicosis patients. Twenty-six participants were diagnosed with ATB within 37-month' follow-up. They were defined as TB progressors and matched in a 1:2 ratio with 52 TB nonprogressors. Results We analyzed expression of 45 cytokines in QuantiFERON supernatants from TB progressors and nonprogressors, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, interleukin (IL)-3, IFN-γ-induced protein 10, IL-10, and IL-9 outperformed IFN-γ as predictive markers. Conclusion These findings highlight the potential of new biomarkers in identifying individuals with high risk of TB to undergo early intervention. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02430259.