Association between an early humoral response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens and later development of tuberculosis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between an early humoral response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens and the later development of tuberculosis (TB) disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals.
METHODS: Using an ELISA test, IgG antibodies against 4 M. tuberculosis antigens--purified protein derivative (PPD); 2,3 diacyl trehalose (DAT); a lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and a trehalose dicarboxylic acid bis N,N-dioctadecylamide (BDA.TDA)--were measured in sera from 25 HIV-infected tuberculous patients and 52 HIV-infected persons without TB.
RESULTS: With the DAT and LOS antigens, a positive result in sera obtained in the 12 months preceding the onset of TB was significantly associated with later development of TB. Using the BDA.TDA antigen, the same association was observed in sera collected during the 6 months before the diagnosis of TB. No significant association was found with the PPD antigen.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that specific antibody markers may be useful to evaluate the risk of active TB in HIV-infected individuals, and a helpful indicator for preventive treatment.