Adipocytokines are the major secretory products of adipose tissue and potential markers of metabolism and
inflammation. However, their association in host immune response against
tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBL) disease is not known. Thus, we measured the systemic levels of
adipocytokines in TBL (n = 44) and compared to
pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB, n = 44) and healthy control (HC, n = 44) individuals. We also examined the pre and post-treatment
adipocytokine levels in TBL individuals upon completion of standard anti-
tuberculosis treatment (ATT). The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were performed between TBL, PTB and HCs to find the potential discriminatory markers. Finally, principal component (PCA) analysis was performed to reveal the expression patterns of
adipocytokines among study groups. Our results demonstrate that TBL is associated with significantly higher systemic levels of
adipocytokines (except
resistin) when compared with PTB and significantly lower levels when compared with HC (except
adiponectin) individuals. Upon completion of ATT, the systemic levels of
adiponectin and
resistin were significantly decreased when compared to pre-treatment levels. Upon ROC analysis, all the three
adipocytokines discriminated TBL from PTB but not with HCs, respectively. Similarly,
adipocytokines were differentially clustered in TBL in comparison to PTB in PCA analysis. Therefore,
adipocytokines are a distinguishing feature in TBL compared to PTB individuals.