As part of a nationwide network of clinics, health authorities and basic researchers, genetic, epidemiological and immunological tests are being carried out on contact persons of TB patients in order to define host- and pathogen-specific factors that determine resistance to pulmonary tuberculosis.
To this end, the first German cohort of close contacts of TB patients who react positively or negatively in the TB-specific immune test (T-cell interferon-gamma release assay) is being established. In this cohort, functional immune responses against the TB infection are compared in cells from blood and bronchial lavage. At the same time, the TB pathogen strains of the index cases are genotyped and preserved. Pathogen and host variables of TB susceptibility will be validated in a mouse model.