Early clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among Indonesian household contacts is not associated with circulating beta-glucan present at the time of exposure.
Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland)·
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.tube.2026.102782
- PMID
- 42166959
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7161201172
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Publisher unavailable
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Clarifying why some individuals naturally resist initial infection may eventually guide the development of novel prophylactic approaches, although current data suggest systemic glucan pathways are not the primary protective mechanism.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
Investigates whether baseline circulating β-D-glucan levels predict rapid elimination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis before detectable infection develops in highly exposed individuals.
Study design
A prospective cohort analysis tracking household members with intense exposure to active tuberculosis cases over a three-month period.
Population and setting
Eighty initially uninfected household contacts residing in Indonesia who experienced heavy exposure to infectious index patients.
Main findings
Baseline glucan concentrations and detection rates showed no statistical relationship with either infection conversion or the ability of participant serum to trigger heterologous cytokine production in donor immune cells. These results indicate that soluble systemic markers measured at initial contact do not appear to sustain rapid pathogen elimination.
Public-health relevance
Clarifying why some individuals naturally resist initial infection may eventually guide the development of novel prophylactic approaches, although current data suggest systemic glucan pathways are not the primary protective mechanism.
Important limitations
Serum sampling captures only systemic factors and likely misses localized tissue responses or intracellular defense mechanisms that operate at the infection site. Furthermore, the functional immune assay relied on ex vivo stimulation of healthy donor cells rather than testing the participants' own leukocytes.
GIDS interpretation
This report offers observational context on host biomarker associations within a specific regional cohort, providing background information on biological inquiry without reflecting ongoing monitoring activities or emerging transmission patterns.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 6 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.