[NK cell activity and counts of T-lymphocyte subsets in pulmonary tuberculosis]

NK cell activity and counts of T lymphocyte subsets examined in 42 pulmonary tuberculosis cases and 32 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. The mean NK cell activity in patients (62.78 + 27.54) were significantly higher than that in healthy controls (39.39 + 12.01) While counts of CD4+T cells and CD3+T cells in patients (35.5 + 9.3, 51.5 + 9.4) were lower than that in controls (43.8 + 9.0, 65.6 + 11.1). The CD4+T cell/CD8+T cell ratio had no significant change both in patients and in controls. Nk cell activity increased with the progression of tuberculosis lesion in X-ray. Counts of T lymphocyte subsets were unrelated with the severity and the extent of the lesion radiologically.