Gene With Probable Role in Human Susceptibility to Pulmonary Tuberculosis Identified

A new gene that may confer susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis has been identified by Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) researchers and their collaborators in The Netherlands, Indonesia, United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation.

In the current j PLoS Genetics, the scientists report that the gene, named Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8), which had been previously shown to recognize some factors from viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), also has a probable role in human susceptibility to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. The study also found that males are more susceptible than females.

"We are really excited about this discovery as it is the first time TLR8 has been implicated in bacteria infections," said Dr. Sonia Davila, GIS research scientist and first author of the article.

"Our analysis of the results from cohort studies in Indonesia and Russia suggested that susceptibility was attributed to genetic variants of TLR8, which is located at the X chromosome.