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Impaired detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis immunity in patients using high levels of immunosuppressive drugs

¹ Dept of Internal Medicine IV, ² Dept of Internal Medicine V, ⁵ Dept of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of the Saarland, Homburg, ³ Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, and ⁴ Lionex GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany.

CORRESPONDENCE: M. Sester, Dept of Internal Medicine IV, University of the Saarland, D-66421 Homburg, Germany. E-mail: martina.sester{at}uks.eu

Keywords: Flow cytometry, immunosuppression, interferon- release assay, T-cells, transplantation, tuberculosis

Received: January 25, 2009
Accepted April 9, 2009

We have previously shown, in renal transplant recipients on maintenance immunosuppression, that a whole-blood assay was superior in detecting immunity towards purified protein derivative (PPD) compared with skin testing. As blood tests may have limitations during high-dose immunosuppression therapy, the present study was aimed at characterising the effect of high immunosuppressive drug levels on PPD-specific T-cell immunity.

PPD-reactive CD4 T-cells from 13 renal transplant recipients were longitudinally quantified by the induction of cytokines using flow cytometry. To further address the effect of high and low maintenance immunosuppression, drug effects were studied in vitro and in 49 age-matched lung transplant recipients and 49 renal transplant recipients.

Maintenance immunosuppression after renal transplantation did not affect PPD-specific T-cell detection (median T-cell frequencies 0.55% before and 0.46% >12 months after transplantation), whereas specific T-cell frequencies were significantly lower 3 months after transplantation (0.15%; p = 0.0002). Likewise, high-level maintenance immunosuppression after lung transplantation was associated with a significantly lower prevalence in PPD-specific T-cell reactivity compared with renal transplant recipients (16.7% versus 52.1%; p = 0.0005). In line with the observations made in vivo, calcineurin inhibitors analysed in vitro led to a dose-dependent decrease in antigen-specific T-cell reactivity.

The flow cytometric assay is not adversely affected by low drug doses. In contrast, decreased levels of PPD-specific T-cells early after transplantation and low prevalence of PPD-reactivity in lung transplant recipients suggest a reduced sensitivity of in vitro testing during high-level immunosuppression.