Assessment of the Impact of Pulmonary Tuberculosis on Immunoglobulins in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients in Owerri, Imo State

Abstract

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a persistent infectious illness that impacts the human immune system and may modify circulating immunoglobulin levels. This study examined serum levels of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri, Imo State. A total of three hundred (300) volunteers aged 20–60 years were recruited, consisting of one hundred and fifty (150) verified PTB patients and one hundred and fifty (150) ostensibly healthy age- and sex-matched controls. The GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay was used to check for tuberculosis infection in sputum samples. After that, blood samples were taken from those who had been confirmed to have the disease. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to measure the levels of IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE in serum. We used SPSS version 21.0 to analyse the data, and the findings were reported as mean ± standard deviation, with p < 0.05 being statistically significant.The findings indicated that the mean serum concentrations of IgG, IgA, and IgE were markedly elevated in PTB patients (1815.17 ± 107.05 mg/dL, 395.93 ± 18.32 mg/dL, and 194.87 ± 26.64 IU/mL, respectively) in comparison to controls (1356.17 ± 40.91 mg/dL, 231.47 ± 11.66 mg/dL, and 83.33 ± 5.76 IU/mL, respectively; p = 0.001). On the other hand, PTB patients had much lower levels of IgM (119.67 ± 5.06 mg/dL) than controls (125.30 ± 5.33 mg/dL). Age and sex did not significantly affect immunoglobulin levels in PTB patients (p > 0.05). According to treatment status, newly diagnosed patients showed the greatest average levels of IgG, IgA, and IgE and the lowest levels of IgM. Patients on intensive treatment had the next highest levels, and patients on continuation therapy had the lowest levels of IgG, IgA, and IgE but the highest levels of IgM. The alterations were statistically substantial (p = 0.001), showing that therapy caused the immune system to change over time. connection analysis indicated a significant negative connection between IgG and IgM (r = -0.718, p = 0.001), alongside robust positive correlations between IgG and IgA (r = 0.966, p = 0.001) and IgE (r = 0.982, p = 0.001). In conclusion, pulmonary tuberculosis correlates with increased levels of IgG, IgA, and IgE, alongside diminished quantities of IgM, indicating prolonged antigenic stimulation and immunological dysregulation. Immunoglobulin profiling may thus function as a valuable supplementary tool in assessing disease progression and therapy efficacy in individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis.