Kimuda, Simon G.Andia‑Biraro, IreneSebina, IsmailEgesa, MosesNalwoga, AngelaSmith, Steven G.Bagaya, Bernard S.Levin, JonathanElliott, Alison M.Cose, Stephen2023-06-222023-06-222020Kimuda, S. G., Andia-Biraro, I., Sebina, I., Egesa, M., Nalwoga, A., Smith, S. G., ... & Cose, S. (2020). Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is associated with increased B cell responses to unrelated pathogens. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-11.https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/8976Antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), have been shown to stimulate human B cell responses to unrelated recall antigens in vitro. However, it is not known whether natural M.tb infection or whether vaccination with, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, has a similar efect. This study investigated the efects of M.tb infection and BCG vaccination on B cell responses to heterologous pathogen recall antigens. Antibodies against several bacterial and viral pathogens were quantifed by ELISA in 68 uninfected controls, 62 individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) and 107 active pulmonary TB (APTB) cases, and 24 recently BCG-vaccinated adolescents and naive controls. Antibody avidity was investigated using surface plasmon resonance and B cell ELISPOTs were used to measure plasmablast and memory B cell responses (MBC) in APTB cases and healthy donor controls. APTB was associated with higher levels of antibodies to respiratory syncytial virus and measles virus, compared to uninfected controls. BCG vaccination did not alter levels of antibodies against heterologous pathogens. Tetanus toxoid (TT)-specifc antibody avidity was increased in APTB cases in comparison to uninfected individuals and the ratio of TT-specifc plasmablasts to MBCs in the APTB cases was 7:1. M.tb infection is associated with increased antibody responses to heterologous pathogens in human subjects.enPathogensB cellMycobacterium tuberculosisArticle