ArticleChest2010
Neutrophils are the predominant infected phagocytic cells in the airways of patients with active pulmonary TB.
Article in Chest, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 303 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
303 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 518 citations in OpenAlex.
- Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity toInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- d-Cycloserine Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics, Susceptibility, and Dosing Implications in Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis: A Faustian Deal.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2018Pooled it
- Azithromycin as Host-Directed Therapy for Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Randomized Pilot Trial.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Trial
- Early mucosal responses following a randomised controlled human inhaled infection with attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Radiological and functional evidence of the bronchial spread of tuberculosis: an observational analysis.The Lancet. Microbe · 2021Trial
- Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase Genotype and HIV Infection Influence Intracerebral Inflammation and Survival From Tuberculous Meningitis.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2017Trial
- Strong, sustained type I IFN signaling acts cell intrinsically to impair IFNγ responses and cause tuberculosis susceptibility.Cell host & microbe · 2026Article
- Review
- In tuberculosis, the neutrophil is neutral in name alone.Nature immunology · 2026Article
- Airway immune signatures of protection and disease progression in recent human tuberculosis household contacts.Nature immunology · 2026Article
- Neutrophils and tuberculosis - insights into immunobiology and pathogenesis.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- NETosis associates with human TB lung tissue destruction and disease pathogenesis.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis IDH-PPARγ interaction suppresses GPX4 to drive macrophage ferroptosis and sustain persistent infection.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Interstitial and recruited macrophages prevent tuberculosis relapse by limiting immune evasion.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- The host immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis determining protection or disease progression.Nature immunology · 2026Review
- Hematological Profiles of Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, North-Central Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Post-TB lung disease: pathogenesis, host-directed therapies, and the C3HeB/FeJ model for pre-clinical advances.Infection and immunity · 2026Review
- Type I interferons in tuberculosis pathogenesis and prevention.Trends in microbiology · 2026Review
- Ly6GeLife · 2026Article
243 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe exact role of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of TB is poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that neutrophils are not simply scavenging phagocytes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection.
methodsThree different types of clinical specimens from patients with active pulmonary TB who underwent lung surgery were examined: sputum, BAL fluid, and cavity contents. Differential cell separation and quantification were performed for intracellular and extracellular bacteria, and bacterial length was measured using microscopy.
resultsNeutrophils were more abundant than macrophages in sputum (86.6% +/- 2.2% vs 8.4% +/- 1.3%) and in BAL fluid (78.8% +/- 5.8% vs 11.8% +/- 4.1%). Inside the cavity, lymphocytes (41.3% +/- 11.2%) were the most abundant cell type, followed by neutrophils (38.8% +/- 9.4%) and macrophages (19.5% +/- 7.5%). More intracellular bacilli were found in neutrophils than macrophages in sputum (67.6% +/- 5.6% vs 25.2% +/- 6.5%), in BAL fluid (65.1% +/- 14.4% vs 28.3% +/- 11.6%), and in cavities (61.8% +/- 13.3% vs 23.9% +/- 9.3%). The lengths of Mtb were shortest in cavities (1.9+/- 0.1 microm), followed by in sputum (2.9 +/- 0.1 microm) and in BAL fluid (3.6 +/- 0.2 microm).
conclusionsOur results show that neutrophils are the predominant cell types infected with Mtb in patients with TB and that these intracellular bacteria appear to replicate rapidly. These results are consistent with a role for neutrophils in providing a permissive site for a final burst of active replication of the bacilli prior to transmission.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.