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Consonni F, Chiti N, Ricci S, Venturini E, Canessa C, Bianchi L, Lippi F, Montagnani C, Giovannini M, Chiappini E, Galli L, Azzari C, Lodi L. Unbalanced serum immunoglobulins in clinical subtypes of pediatric tuberculosis disease. Front Pediatr 2022; 10:908963. [PMID: 36016881 PMCID: PMC9395963 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.908963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune response to tuberculosis (TB) has been extensively studied in the past decades and classically involves cellular immunity. However, evidence suggests that humoral immunity may play a relevant role. Past studies regarding serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels in TB are dated and only involve adult subjects. In this study, we retrospectively studied a cohort of 256 children with TB disease and analyzed 111 patients screened for total serum Ig at diagnosis. According to the severity and extent of organ involvement, subjects were divided into four groups, namely, uncomplicated pulmonary TB (UCPTB, 56.3% of patients), complicated pulmonary TB (CPTB, 22.5%), lymph node extrapulmonary TB (LN-EPTB, 7.2%), and extra-nodal extrapulmonary TB (EN-EPTB, 13.5%). Serum IgG and IgA levels were significantly higher in more severe and extended TB disease. Median IgG levels progressively increased from uncomplicated to complicated pulmonary and nodal forms, reaching their highest values in diffuse extra-pulmonary TB. In parallel, UCPTB showed significantly lower frequencies of patients presenting a substantial increase in IgG levels when compared with the other three groups. No relevant differences in IgM levels were detected. Ig screening at follow-up showed a significant reduction in IgG and IgA levels. Finally, we unveiled three cases of selective IgA and one case of selective IgM deficiencies (SIgMD), the latter with a severe clinical course. Serum IgG and IgA may be a useful clinical tool to assess the severity and monitor the treatment response in pediatric TB disease. Moreover, immunological workup in children with TB disease may unmask primary defects of humoral immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Consonni
- Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy.,Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Nicolò Chiti
- Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy.,Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Silvia Ricci
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Venturini
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Clementina Canessa
- Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Leila Bianchi
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Francesca Lippi
- Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Carlotta Montagnani
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Mattia Giovannini
- Allergology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Elena Chiappini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Luisa Galli
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Chiara Azzari
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Lodi
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, Italy
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