Detection of active tuberculosis infection by T cell responses to early-secreted antigenic target 6-kDa protein and culture filtrate protein 10.

The purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test has no predictive value for tuberculosis (TB) in Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-vaccinated individuals because of cross-reactive responses to nonspecific constituents of PPD. T cell responses to early-secreted antigenic target 6-kDa protein (ESAT-6) and the newly identified culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10), 2 proteins specifically expressed by M. tuberculosis (MTB) but not by BCG strains, were evaluated. Most TB patients responded to ESAT-6 (92%) or CFP-10 (89%). A minority of BCG-vaccinated individuals responded to both ESAT-6 and CFP-10, their history being consistent with latent infection with MTB in the presence of protective immunity. No responses were found in PPD-negative controls. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay were 84% and 100%, respectively, at a cutoff of 300 pg of interferon-gamma/mL. These data indicate that ESAT-6 and CFP-10 are promising antigens for highly specific immunodiagnosis of TB, even in BCG-vaccinated individuals.