ArticleBMC microbiology2026
Dynamics of IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-6 during early tuberculosis treatment: significant longitudinal changes but limited value as standalone discriminators of treatment status.
Article in BMC microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMonitoring tuberculosis (TB) treatment response remains challenging, necessitating robust host-derived biomarkers. While standard monitoring relies on clinical assessment, adherence, radiological improvement, and microbiological culture conversion, these methods can be slow to manifest.Cytokines like IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-6 are implicated in the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), but their longitudinal dynamics and discriminative power during treatment are inadequately characterized. These host-derived biomarkers are intended to serve as adjuncts to, rather than replacements for, established clinical and microbiological monitoring protocols.
methodsIn a retrospective cohort of 163 TB patients, we quantified twelve cytokines using a multiplex immunoassay in paired plasma samples collected pre-treatment and two months post-treatment. Longitudinal changes were assessed via Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and the discriminatory ability of significant cytokines for treatment status was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Logistic regression identified factors associated with post-treatment biomarker levels.
resultsIFN-γ and IL-6 decreased significantly (median change: -15.4% and − 47.0%, respectively), while IL-2 increased (+ 19.0%). However, their individual power to discriminate pre- from post-treatment status was limited, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.555 for IFN-γ, 0.558 for IL-2, and 0.611 for IL-6. Pre-treatment cytokine levels were the strongest predictors of post-treatment concentrations.
conclusionIFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-6 exhibit significant dynamic changes during early TB treatment, reflecting immunomodulation, but perform poorly as standalone discriminators of treatment status. Future strategies should prioritize multi-parameter models integrating cytokine trends to improve monitoring accuracy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.