Discovery and Validation of a Six-Marker Serum Protein Signature for the Diagnosis of Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis

摘要

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem, causing the highest mortality of any single infectious disease worldwide in 2015, and is among the top 10 causes of all deaths worldwide. The latest reports suggest that while substantial progress has been made in reducing TB incidence, there are still two in five individuals who remain undiagnosed and contribute to the spread of the disease. The United Nations global strategy for TB control has the goal of a 90% reduction in TB deaths and an 80% reduction in TB incident rates by 2030 (1). To achieve these goals, new diagnostic tools are critically important and vital for controlling the TB epidemic (2, 3). Better tests using non-sputum samples, such as blood, will broaden access to diagnostics that can inform treatment and halt the spread of disease in communities (4). No current diagnostic test is accurate and cheap enough, and existing tests often are inadequate in children and those with extrapulmonary disease (2–4). Empirical treatment is still commonplace, especially when the suspicion of TB or the risk of mortality from untreated TB is high (5).