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Infectious Diseases Congress 2019 Journal of Bacteriology and Infectious Diseases | Volume 3
June 12-13, 2019 | Bangkok, Thailand
OF EXCELLENCE
IN INTERNATIONAL
MEETINGS
YEARS
BACTERIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
2nd Global Congress on
J Bacteriol Infec Dis 2019, Volume 3
IMMUNOPROFILING OF NON-TUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIAL INFECTION PATIENTS
REVEAL GLOBAL T CELL DYSFUNCTION AND INDIVIDUALS AT RISK
John J Miles 1, 2, 3, 5, Viviana P Lutzky1, Champa N Ratnatunga1, 2, 3 , Daniel J Smith1, 4, Andreas Kupz2,
Denise L Doolan 1, 2, DavidW Reid1, 4, Rachel MThomson3, 4 and Scott C Bell1, 3, 4
1 QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia
2 AITHM-James Cook University, Australia
3 University of Queensland, Australia
4 The Prince Charles Hospital, Australia
5 Cardiff University School of Medicine, United Kingdom
T he increasing global incidence of non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection is of growing concern. New
evidence of person-to-person transmission of multidrug-resistant NTM adds to the global alarm. The reasons
why certain individuals are at risk of these infections is unknown. Using high definition flow cytometry author
studied the immune profiles of two groups of at risk NTM patients and matched controls. The first group was
cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and the second group was elderly individuals. CF patients with active NTM infection or
a history of NTM infection exhibited a unique surface T cell phenotype with a marked global deficiency in TNFα
production. Immune-based biomarkers were determined that could identify CF individuals at risk of NTM infection
with a regression model of AUC=1. In contrast, elderly individuals with NTM infection exhibited a separate T cell
phenotype underlined by the high prevalence of exhaustion markers and dysregulation in type I cytokine release.
Collectively, these data will be of significant diagnostic and prognostic value for NTM patient management and
could be used to identify new therapeutic pathways and new targets to correct T cell dysfunction.