T-spot is a diagnostic test based on the ELISPOT method used to diagnose tuberculosis . It is manufactured by Oxford Immunotec in the UK and was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford in England. In Russia, the test production is localized at the facilities of the biotechnological company Generium in the Vladimir Region [1] . The test is available in most European countries, USA, Russia and other countries [2] . In Russia, it is performed in St. Petersburg, in the laboratories of Explan, Labtest, SZTsDM.
Test Principle
Using the T-SPOT.TB test (T-SPOT®.TV) in the blood sample, the number of T-lymphocytes that produce interferon-gamma is determined. This allows you to determine the presence of an immune response and to detect the presence of infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis - the causative agent of tuberculosis. The method can also be used to detect latent tuberculosis . The main advantage of the method is that it is relatively fast (results within 24 hours) and less susceptible to previous BCG vaccination compared to traditional testing methods (skin tuberculin tests, for example, Tuberculin test (Mantoux test) ). This is due to the fact that tuberculin skin tests use a heterogeneous mixture of more than two hundred different mycobacterial peptides, and T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT®.TV) uses antigens specific to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (peptides called ESAT-6 and CFP-10). ESAT-6 and CFP-10 are expressed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but are absent in all currently used BCG vaccines, as well as in non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Based on these testing principles, it is believed that T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT®.TV) is more specific than skin tuberculin tests. In one study in Germany, 70 of 72 patients with confirmed tuberculosis infection tested positive for T-SPOT.TB, indicating a sensitivity of 97.2% [3] .
See also
- Tuberculosis
- Tuberculin test
- Quantiferon
- Interferon gamma release assay
Notes
- ↑ Preparations of the company Generium | Medicines - descriptions and characteristics . www.generium.ru. Date of treatment July 22, 2019.
- ↑ What is the T-spot that the ombudsman proposed instead of the Mantoux test? (Russian) , Life.ru. Date of treatment September 5, 2017.
- ↑ T. Meier, H.-P. Eulenbruch, P. Wrighton-Smith, G. Enders, T. Regnath. Sensitivity of a new commercial enzyme-linked immunospot assay (T SPOT-TB) for diagnosis of tuberculosis in clinical practice // European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases: Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology. - August 2005. - T. 24 , no. 8 . - S. 529-536 . - ISSN 0934-9723 . - DOI : 10.1007 / s10096-005-1377-8 .