Precision immunoprofiling to reveal diagnostic biomarkers of latent TB infection

PROJECT SUMMARY Tuberculosis (TB) is among the leading causes of mortality worldwide with an estimated 2 billion individuals currently infected. Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is the most common form of TB infection affecting 13 million Americans. While many with LTBI remain asymptomatic, an estimated 10% of immunocompetent patients with LTBI will reactivate to active TB, and will become infectious. LTBI is treatable with a prolonged antibiotic treatment; however, potential side effects motivate the development of new diagnostic approaches that can identify with high specificity patients at the highest risk of reactivation, for who therapy would be most beneficial. The tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) are commonly used for TB and LTBI screening. Both tests provide good measures of TB exposure; however, neither is effective at diagnosing LTBI (positive predictive values