[The number of peripheral blood CD11c+ antigen presenting cells increases and their function strengthens in the patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the percentage of CD11c positive antigen presenting cells (CD11c(+) APCs) in peripheral blood from patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis (APT) and the levels of HLA-DR and CD86. Methods Fifty-two APT patients were enrolled in the study and 15 healthy volunteers served as controls. The frequencies of CD11c(+) APCs and the expressions of HLA-DR and CD86 in CD11c(+) APCs in the peripheral blood were determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The percentage of CD11c(+) APCs in the peripheral blood in the patients with APT was much higher than that in the controls. Interestingly, CD11c(+) APCs frequency in post-treatment patients was even higher compared with that in the pre-treatment patients. Furthermore, both HLA-DR(+) CD11c(+) APC frequency and the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of HLA-DR in APT patients were higher than those in the controls. Similarly, the percentage of CD86(+) CD11c(+) APCs in the APT patients was also higher than that in the controls. CONCLUSION: The increase of CD11c(+) APCs with high levels of HLA-DR and CD86 in APT patients suggests that the antigen presenting capacity of APCs is at a high level in APT patients.