Genetic variations in the city’s population may render some people more susceptible to tuberculosis than others, suggests a recently published study.
The study, conducted by researchers at Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre at Mahavir Hospital in Masab Tank, explores the association between genetic variations that control the body’s immune response and tuberculosis. Sample DNA of over 800 people from the hospital’s bio bank, which is representative of an area with a population of five lakh, was analysed. This population size is the area that scientists at the hospital’s TB research unit have been working on for nearly 15 years now.
The genetic variations identified are what is known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). SNPs, which are variations of only one nucleotide, give rise to heterogeneity in the DNA sequence of a species. There are four nucleotides in all – adenine, guanine, thiamine and cytosine – which make up the DNA of an organism. The researchers analysed two immune proteins, interleukin 12 (IL-12) and interferon gamma (INF-g).
The research team analysed samples of household contacts of patients infected with TB, and compared them with the DNA from healthy people.
The study, published last month in the journal Human Immunology, showed that individuals with one variant each of genes, code for IL-12 and INF-g, are rendered more susceptible than individuals with the other variant. Combination of both these variants was termed ‘high-risk’. “This underscores the importance of genetic susceptibility and the need for population screening tools,” said study author Dr. G. Sumanlatha, a researcher at the hospital and an assistant professor at OU’s Department of Genetics. Mahavir Hospital is also mapping tuberculosis research in its research population. “The hotspots seen are those where people tend to live in close quarters and pursue lifestyle habits that render the body vulnerable to TB infection,” said Dr. L. Joshi, a clinician working in the research centre associated with the genetic study.
Genetic study
The study conducted by researchers at Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre at Mahavir Hospital
Sample DNA of over 800 people from the hospital’s bio bank analysed
The hospital is also mapping tuberculosis research in its research population
