Clinical Trials Listing

Immunity againest Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

The purpose of this study is to understand how immune responses within the lung protect against respiratory infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis (Tb).  The investigatior are seeking healthy adults who have been had positive skin tests or blood tests for Tb or received the Tb vaccine, called BCG.  Healthy non-smokers will also be recruited as a control group.

The purpose of this study is to understand how the immune responses within the lung protects againest respiratory infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis (Tb).  The investigators are seeking adults who have been previously had a positive tuberculosis ("PPD") skin test or QuantiFERON blood test, or who have received BCG vaccintation.  Healthy non-smokers will also be recuited as control subjects.  Volunteers will be asked to participate in studies of immune cells obtained from the blood and lung.  Lung cells are obtained by the procedure of bronchoalveolar lavage, which involves passing a flexible tube into the lungs and washing cells out from a small portion of one lung.  Blood samples are obtained for screening evaluation and for comparison with the studies of the lung cells.

Participants must be 18-50 and have a history of positive Tb skin test or blood test or BCG vaccination.  Healthy non-smokers may also participate as control subjects.  For all study groups, we cannot include volunteers who are current smokers, or who have asthma or other chronic lung disorders.