In children or immunocompromised individuals, where it is very difficult to distinguish Mtb infection from disease, and in people that are at high risk to develop active disease, the increase of polyfuntional CD8 T cells and the reduction of single IFN-γ or TNF-α producing cells may be used to correlate these CD8 T cell subsets with TB disease progression, highlighting a new possible role as indicator of successful response to treatment. This evidence concerns the gene TNF and tuberculosis.