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Abstract
The current state-of-the-art tests for infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis – the IFN-γ release assays – rely on accurate measurement of the cytokine IFN-γ. Many other potential biomarkers are expressed in concert with IFN-γ, and IP-10 in particular has shown promising results. IP-10 is produced in large amounts, allowing for the development of new and simplified test platforms, such as lateral flow. In this review, we summarize the results of 22 clinical studies exploring the use of IP-10 as an alternative marker to IFN-γ. The studies report that diagnostic accuracy of IP-10 is on par with IFN-γ, but also that IP-10 may be more robust in young children and in HIV-infected individuals with low CD4 cell counts. We conclude the review by presenting limitations of the published works and outline recent developments and future directions.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
M Ruhwald holds a research grant from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, MG Aabye holds a Career PhD Scholarship from Copenhagen University and P Ravn is supported by The Danish Council for Independent Research – Medical Sciences. M Ruhwald, P Ravn and MG Aabye are registered as inventors on pending and issued patents disclosing the use of IP-10 as diagnostic biomarker for infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.