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World J Exp Med. Sep 20, 2026; 16(3): 120424
Published online Sep 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.120424
Published online Sep 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.120424
Bacterial load and transforming growth factor-beta: Predicting the extent of lung damage in pulmonary tuberculosis patients
Putri Nila Kandi, M Harun Iskandar, Risna Halim Mubin, Syakib Bakri, Hasyim Kasim, Suriani Alimuddin, Resha Dermawansyah Rusman, Arifin Seweng, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
M Harun Iskandar, Harry Akza Putrawan, Departement of Pulmonology and Respiratory, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Syakib Bakri, Hasyim Kasim, Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Suriani Alimuddin, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Resha Dermawansyah Rusman, Division of Gastroenterohepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Arifin Seweng, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Co-first authors: Putri Nila Kandi and M Harun Iskandar.
Author contributions: Kandi PN, Iskandar MH, Mubin RH, and Putrawan HA drafted the manuscript; Iskandar MH, Mubin RH, Bakri S, and Kasim H designed and concepted the study; Kandi PN, Putrawan HA, and Seweng A, collected and analyzed and interpreted the data; Iskandar MH, Bakri S, Alimuddin S, Rusman RD, and Kasim H revised manuscript critically for important intellectual content. All authors participated in the final draft preparation, manuscript revision, and critical evaluation of the intellectual contents. All authors have read and approved the content of the manuscript and confirmed the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work. Kand PN and Iskandar MH contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
AI contribution statement: AI tools used: Claude (Anthropic) was used during manuscript preparation for language polishing and writing assistance. Grammarly was used for grammar and spelling checks. Litmap was used for literature mapping and visualization of reference relationships.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, No. 453A/UN4.6.4.5.31/PP36/2025. The ethical approval was granted on June 30, 2025.
Informed consent statement: The study adhered to the ethical principles, ensuring the protection of participants rights and confidentiality. All participants provided informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study after receiving a detailed explanation of the research procedures.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The dataset includes anonymized clinical and laboratory data of pulmonary tuberculosis patients used for statistical analysis. Due to ethical and institutional regulations, individual participant data cannot be publicly shared to protect patient confidentiality. Researchers who wish to access the data for academic purposes may submit a request to the corresponding author, subject to approval by the institutional review board and data sharing agreement. No additional unpublished data, analytic code, or study protocol are publicly available.
Corresponding author: Putri Nila Kandi, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan KM 11, Makassar 90245, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia. putrinilaakandi@gmail.com
Received: February 27, 2026
Revised: March 6, 2026
Accepted: June 11, 2026
Published online: September 20, 2026
Processing time: 205 Days and 22 Hours
Revised: March 6, 2026
Accepted: June 11, 2026
Published online: September 20, 2026
Processing time: 205 Days and 22 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) severity is shaped by the interplay between bacterial burden and host immune responses. This study examined their association with radiological lesion extent in newly diagnosed patients. Bacterial load was significantly associated with moderate-extensive lung damage, whereas systemic transforming growth factor-β levels did not reflect disease severity, suggesting a more localized immune role in TB pathogenesis.