Arezou Mirzaei - Islamic Azad University, Hamadan Branch, Hamadan, Iran
Hassan Mahmoudi - Department of Microbiology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

Background and Aim:Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important causes of human mortality. Approximately, 1⁄3 of the world populations are infected with TB and 5-10 % of them develop the active form of the disease. Cytokines play a major role in the host defense process against Mycobacterium infections. Among these cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) has a prominent role in defense and pathological responses to tuberculosis.Methods:This case-control study was carried out during one year from May 2016 to June 2017. In the study, 45 cases of tuberculosis patients with the diagnosis of tuberculosis (smear and positive culture) as case group and 45 healthy subjects as control group were studied. The serum levels of TNF-α cytokine were determined with the use of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.Results:The results of this study showed that concentration of TNF-α in patients with TB increased significantly (P<0.05). Also, the finding showed that between the control group and the patient in the age groups of 20-30, 50-60 years, there was a significant difference.Conclusion:The results of this study showed that cytokines can be useful as a probable marker for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. As well as, due to increase the significance level of TNF-α cytokine production of in the patient group, the measurement of serum levels of this cytokine with the main methods for identifying tuberculosis. Based on this study, we can conclude that the level of serum TNF-α is increased in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Cytokine