Exploring the value 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 tuberculosis modified 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 results demonstrate that the median plasma levels of TLP in control subjects are 2.7 fold higher than the median plasma values in active TB subjects (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Plasma levels of TLP are elevated with active TB disease in HIV positive subjects and deserves further exploration as an indicator for TB detection in children.