Treatment of Refractory Disseminated Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infection With Interferon Gamma: A Preliminary Report

The importance of host factors in the susceptibility to mycobacterial infection has been suspected for over a century 1 . Patients with T-cell deficiencies, such as the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome 2 and idiopathic CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia, 3 – 6 and patients with abnormalities of monocyte or macrophage function 7 , 8 or cancer have frequent problems with these infections 9 – 12 . This suggests that the host defenses involved in protection against mycobacteria include T-cell and monocyte or macrophage functions. The apparent interdependence of macrophages and CD4+ T lymphocytes in the control of mycobacterial infections may relate to cytokine signals that pass between these cells, particularly those produced . . .