The immune response is impaired in the silent stage of Chagas' disease. We used quadruple skin-testing with new tuberculins in 37 adults who were symptom-free but seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi and in 37 matched seronegative controls. Whereas 19% of controls responded to common mycobacterial antigens, none of the Chagas' seropositive group responded to them (p < 0.006), demonstrating specificity in their unresponsiveness. The enhanced tuberculin reactivity after BCG vaccination in the control group was suppressed in seropositive subjects (p < 0.002). Selective loss of response to common mycobacterial antigens may have implications for the autoimmune pathology of Chagas' disease, and for susceptibility to tuberculosis, leprosy, and HIV disease.
BT - Lancet (London, England) C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7983955?dopt=Abstract DA - 1994 Dec 03 DO - 10.1016/s0140-6736(94)90351-4 IS - 8936 J2 - Lancet LA - eng N2 -The immune response is impaired in the silent stage of Chagas' disease. We used quadruple skin-testing with new tuberculins in 37 adults who were symptom-free but seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi and in 37 matched seronegative controls. Whereas 19% of controls responded to common mycobacterial antigens, none of the Chagas' seropositive group responded to them (p < 0.006), demonstrating specificity in their unresponsiveness. The enhanced tuberculin reactivity after BCG vaccination in the control group was suppressed in seropositive subjects (p < 0.002). Selective loss of response to common mycobacterial antigens may have implications for the autoimmune pathology of Chagas' disease, and for susceptibility to tuberculosis, leprosy, and HIV disease.
PY - 1994 SP - 1540 EP - 1 T2 - Lancet (London, England) TI - Cellular immune response to common mycobacterial antigens in subjects seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi. VL - 344 SN - 0140-6736 ER -