Immunopathology in human tuberculosis affects T-cell phenotype and functions. Previous studies identified impaired T-cell sensitivity to Interleukin (IL)-7 accompanied by lower IL-7 receptor α-chain (IL-7Rα) expression in patients with acute tuberculosis. In the present study, we characterized affected T-cell subsets and determined the influence of tuberculosis disease severity and treatment response.

Tuberculosis patients (n = 89) as well as age- and gender-matched asymptomatic contacts (controls, n = 47) were recruited in Ghana. Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis sputum burden was monitored prior to and during treatment. Blood samples from all patients and controls were analyzed for IL-7Rα expression and T-cell markers by multi-colour flow cytometry.

CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells of tuberculosis patients showed generally lower IL-7Rα expression as compared to controls. Concomitantly, tuberculosis patients had higher proportions of naïve and lower proportions of memory CD4⁺ T-cells. Notably, a subset of CD27 positive central memory T-cells (T_cm), which lacked IL-7Rα expression was enriched in tuberculosis patients as compared to controls. M. tuberculosis sputum burden was not associated with differences in IL-7Rα expression. Treatment duration and response showed no clear effects although IL-7Rα expression patterns were highly variable.

These results suggested generally impaired generation of memory CD4⁺ T-cells and enrichment of a T_cm subset without IL-7Rα expression in patients with tuberculosis.

人类结核病的免疫病理学影响 T 细胞表型和功能。先前的研究发现，急性结核病患者的 T 细胞对白细胞介素 (IL)-7 的敏感性受损，并伴有 IL-7 受体 α 链 (IL-7Rα) 表达降低。在本研究中，我们对受影响的 T 细胞亚群进行了表征，并确定了结核病严重程度和治疗反应的影响。

在加纳招募了结核病患者（n = 89）以及年龄和性别匹配的无症状接触者（对照组，n = 47）。在治疗前和治疗期间监测结核分枝杆菌(M.)痰量。通过多色流式细胞术分析所有患者和对照的血液样本中的 IL-7Rα 表达和 T 细胞标记物。

与对照组相比，结核病患者的CD4 ⁺和 CD8 ⁺ T 细胞普遍表现出较低的 IL-7Rα 表达。与此同时，结核病患者的初始 CD4 + T 细胞比例较高，记忆 CD4 ⁺ T 细胞比例较低。值得注意的是，与对照组相比，结核病患者中缺少 IL-7Rα 表达的CD27 阳性中央记忆 T 细胞 (T _{cm ) 子集含量丰富。}结核分枝杆菌痰量与 IL-7Rα 表达差异无关。尽管 IL-7Rα 表达模式变化很大，但治疗持续时间和反应没有显示明显的效果。

这些结果表明，结核病患者的记忆 CD4 ⁺ T 细胞生成普遍受损，并且 T _{cm子集富集而无 IL-7Rα 表达。}