Lisa Stockdale 2019

Dr Lisa Stockdale

University of Oxford, UK

Cytomegalovirus as a correlate of risk for TB?

Abstract

Recent evidence highlights human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and immune activation as risk factors for TB disease. It is not known whether other herpes viruses are also implicated, nor if a doseresponse relationship exists between TB risk and herpes co-infection. This talk/poster would describe a recent nested case-control study using 51 stored serum samples from 25 TB cases up to 10 years prior to TB diagnosis from a rural Ugandan cohort. Controls who were not diagnosed with TB disease were matched on age, sex and HIV status. Samples were investigated for Epstein Barr (EBV), Herpes Simplex (HSV), and HCMV-specific IgG, serum markers of inflammation, and mycobacterial antibody levels. The study found that HCMV IgG, but not EBV or HSV IgG was associated with increased risk of active TB disease up to 10 years prior to TB diagnosis. In addition, a diose-response relationship was seen between magnitude of HCMV and TB risk. Mycobacterial antibody levels were not associated with any difference in odds of TB disease. An inflammatory environment, characterized by serum IP-10 and IL1α, were independently associated with increased risk of TB disease. 

Biography

I am a post doctoral researcher at the Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford. Currently working on typhoid and paratyphoid vaccine clinical trials and challenge models, my PhD research was in correlates of risk in TB. I am particularly interested in the interaction between viral and bacterial pathogens, particularly between the ubiquitous herpes virus, CMV and M. tuberculosis.