Suppressors of cytokine signaling in tuberculosis

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 21;12(4):e0176377. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176377. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB), a global disease mainly infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains leading public health problem worldwide. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCSs) play important roles in the protection against microbial infection. However, the relationship between members of the SOCS family and tuberculosis infection remains unclear. Using peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we investigated the mRNA expression profiles of SOCS subfamilies among active TB, latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and healthy individuals. Our results showed that active tuberculosis subjects had higher levels of SOCS-3 mRNA, lower expressions of SOCS-2, -4, -5, -6, -7, and cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein-1 (CIS-1) mRNAs, but not SOCS-1 mRNA than healthy and LTBI subjects. In men, LTBI patients had lower SOCS-3 than healthy subjects, and active TB patients had lower levels of SOCS-4, -5, and CIS-1 mRNAs but higher levels of SOCS-3 mRNA than healthy subjects. In women, LTBI patients had lower SOCS-3 mRNA level than healthy subjects, and active TB patients had lower CIS-1 mRNA level than healthy subjects. In non-aged adults (< 65 years old), TB patients had higher SOCS-3 mRNA and lower levels of SOCS-2, -4, -5, -6, -7, and CIS-1 mRNAs; whereas, aged TB patients (≥ 65 years old) had lower levels of SOCS-5 and CIS-1 mRNAs. These data suggest that particular SOCS members and their correlative relationships allow discrimination of active TB from healthy and LTBI subjects.

MeSH terms

  • Cytokines / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Tuberculosis / metabolism*

Substances

  • Cytokines

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by the Taoyuan General Hospital, Taiwan, Grants PTH10227, PTH10310, PTH10327 and PTH10419 to S.-W. Lee and by the Ministry of Sciences and Technologies, Taiwan, Grant MOST105-2311-B-008-003 to Y.-H. Kao. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.