This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Reece, S. T. Articles by Campos-Neto, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Reece, S. T. Articles by Campos-Neto, A.

Skin Test Performed with Highly Purified Mycobacterium tuberculosis Recombinant Protein Triggers Tuberculin Shock in Infected Guinea Pigs

Infectious Disease Research Institute, Seattle, Washington,¹ Corixa Corporation, Seattle, Washington,² The Forsyth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts³

Received 14 December 2004/ Returned for modification 14 January 2005/ Accepted 27 January 2005

Tuberculin shock due to inoculation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in patients with tuberculosis is a serious syndrome originally described over 100 years ago by Robert Koch. Here, we present experimental evidence that a single M. tuberculosis recombinant protein, CFP-10, triggers this syndrome. Intradermal inoculation of CFP-10 elicits in M. tuberculosis-infected mice high levels of serum tumor necrosis factor alpha and causes tuberculin shock in infected guinea pigs characterized by hypothermia and death within 6 to 48 h after the antigen inoculation. Autopsies of these animals revealed intense polycythemia and hemorrhagic patches in the lung parenchyma, a pathological observation consistent with tuberculin shock. These results point to the possible occurrence of tuberculin shock in sensitive individuals inoculated with highly purified M. tuberculosis recombinant proteins as vaccine candidates or skin test reagents.

Editor: J. L. Flynn