Kinetics of T cell-activation molecules in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens

The phenotypic features acquired subsequent to antigen-specific stimulation in vitro were evaluated by means of the kinetic expressions of CD69 and CD25 activation molecules on T lymphocytes and assayed by flow cytometry in response to PPD, Ag85B, and ferritin in PPD-positive healthy control individuals. In response to PHA, CD69 staining on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells became initially marked after 4 h, peaked at 24 h, and quickly decreased after 120 h. For CD25, a latter expression was detected around 8 h, having increased after 96 h. As expected, the response rate to the mycobacterial antigens was much lower than that to the mitogen. Positive staining was high after 96 h for CD25 and after 24 h for CD69. CD69 expression was significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) on CD8+ as compared to CD4+ T cells. High levels were also found between 96-120 h. Regarding Ag85B, CD25+ cells were mostly CD4+ instead of CD8+ T cells. Moreover, in response to ferritin, a lower CD25 expression was noted. The present data will allow further characterization of the immune response to new mycobacterial-specific antigens and their evaluation for possible inclusion in developing new diagnostic techniques for tuberculosis as well in a new vaccine to prevent the disease.