Cytokine/chemokine cascades in immunity to tuberculosis.

The relationship between acquired specific resistance and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) in immunity to tuberculosis has long been a topic of debate. Here, Ian Orme and Andrea Cooper propose that the events are separate mechanisms; protection is cytokine driven and initially controls the infection, whereas DTH is primarily chemokine driven and functions to wall off the infection and prevent further dissemination.