Detection of the antigen antibody complexes in blood of the patients with tuberculosis and its clinic significance

Objective: The aim of this paper was to investigate the quantity and specificity of antigen antibody circulatory immune complexes （CIC） in the serum of tuberculosis patients. Methods: The cirrculating immune complexes were performed by precipitation tests using polyethyleneglycol （PEG） on seres of normal and pathological sera; and the antituberculous antibodies in the serum and CIC were detected with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Results: The quantity of CIC in the serum of patients with tuberculosis was significantly higher than that of healthy people. The level of the antituberculous antibodies in the CIC of the patients with tuberculosis was also significantly higher than that of healthy people. Conclusion: The detection of CIC in the serum of patients with tuberculosis may offer a high specificity in the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis.