Tuberc Respir Dis.  1989 Dec;36(4):349-353. 10.4046/trd.1989.36.4.349.

Study on the Neutrophil Chemotaxis in Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

• KMID: 2528528
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1989.36.4.349

Abstract

Neutrophils are often seen first at sites of granulomatous inflammation such as in tuberculous exudates. There was a report which supported the hypothesis that neutrophils might initiate inflammatory responses to tubercle bacilli by releasing chemotaxins which attracted monocytes. Neutrophil chemotaxis is inhibited by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which seems to be a kind of microbial defenses against phagocytes. We measured neutrophil chemotaxis activity in 33 active pulmonary tuberculosis patients and 19 normal healthy controls by the modified Boyden chamber method with cellulose nitrate membrane micropore filter and formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phen ylalanine (f-Met-Leu-Phe) as a chemoattractant. The neutrophil chemotaxis activity was evaluated by the leading front method; the neutrophil chemotaxis index (NCI) represented the measured distance of active migration divided by the one of random migration. The mean NCI (mean ± SD) was 1. 45 ± 0.221 in active pulmonary tuberculosis (n=33), which was significantly decreased than that of control (n= 19) 1. 78 ± 0. 446 (p<0 .005). The mean NCI was 1. 52 ± 0.226, 1. 42 ± 0. 210, and 1. 28 ± 0 .181 in the minimal (n = 15), moderately (n = 15) and far advanced (n = 3) pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The mean NCI was 1.43 ± 0. 233, 1.45 ± 0 .171 . and 1.48 ± 0.274 in the sputum AFB bacilli smear/ culture positive (n = 13), smear negative/ culture positive (n= 11), and smear/ culture negative (n=9) patients. In conclusion we observed that neutrophil chemotaxis activity was decreased in the active pulmonary tuberculosis patients, and the tendoncy of the more impaired neutrophil chemotaxis in the more extensive disease patients.