IFN-gamma→Tuberculin→Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha→c-fos

• 19634712(IFN-gamma): Evaluation of whole blood IFNgamma test using PPD and recombinant antigen challenge for diagnosis of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.

  Quantiferon TB gold (QFT-G) with recombinant antigen cocktail is well evaluated for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).

• 12032325(Tuberculin): Antigen-specific and persistent tuberculin anergy in a cohort of pulmonary tuberculosis patients from rural Cambodia.

  However , lack of skin induration to intradermal injection of PPD or PPD anergy is observed in a subset of patients with active tuberculosis (TB).

• 16160917(Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha): Role of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10 by the PPD antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

  MAPK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 and p38) and Akt are rapidly phosphorylated in human monocytes stimulated with PPD.

• 20432471(c-fos): Caffeine induces matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 down-regulation in human leukemia U937 cells via Ca2+/ROS-mediated suppression of ERK/c-fos pathway and activation of p38 MAPK/c-jun pathway.

  Moreover , caffeine treatment led to MAPK phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) down-regulation and protein phosphatase 2A catalytic subunit (PP2Ac) up-regulation , which were involved in cross-talk between p38 MAPK and ERK.