Evaluation of the Antibody in Lymphocyte Supernatant Assay to Detect Active Tuberculosis

We aimed to evaluate the antibody in lymphocyte supernatant (ALS) assay as a biomarker to diagnose tuberculosis among adults from Tanzania with and without HIV.

Adults admitted with suspicion for tuberculosis had sputa obtained for GeneXpert MTB/RIF, acid-fast bacilli smear and mycobacterial culture; blood was obtained prior to treatment initiation and after 4 weeks. Adults hospitalized with non-infectious conditions served as controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured unstimulated for 72 hours. Anti-mycobacterial antibodies were measured from culture supernatants by ELISA, using BCG vaccine as the coating antigen. Median ALS responses were compared between cases and controls at baseline and between cases over time.

Of 97 TB cases, 85 were microbiologically confirmed and 12 were clinically diagnosed. Median ALS responses from TB cases (0.366 OD from confirmed cases and 0.285 from clinical cases) were higher compared to controls (0.085, p<0.001). ALS responses did not differ based on HIV status, CD4 count or sputum smear status. Over time, the median ALS values declined significantly (0.357 at baseline; 0.198 after 4-weeks, p<0.001).

Robust ALS responses were mounted by patients with TB regardless of HIV status, CD4 count, or low sputum bacillary burden, potentially conferring a unique niche for this immunologic biomarker for TB.