Retrospective feasibility study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis modified lipoprotein as a potential biomarker for TB detection in children

Background: Current TB diagnostic methods available have been developed for adults and development efforts have neglected the differences in disease and sampling that occur between adults and children. Diagnostic challenges are even greater in HIV co-infected children and infants. Methods and results: We established a sandwich ELISA assay to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosismodified lipoprotein (TLP) ex vivo in plasma. The study population contains plasma samples from 21 patients with active TB and 24 control samples with no TB, collected in the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trails (IMPAACT) P1041 study. Retrospective analysis was performed and the result demonstrate that TLP level is associated with TB disease. Conclusions: Plasma levels of TLP associate with active TB disease in HIV positive subjects and can be used as an indicator for TB detection in children.