The G516T polymorphism in the CYP2B6 gene is a key predictor of the therapeutic response to treatment in TB patients.

The role of regulatory elements such as small ncRNAs and their mechanisms are poorly understood in infectious diseases. Tuberculosis is one of the oldest infectious diseases of humans and it is still a challenge to prevent and treat. Control of the infection, as well as its diagnosis, are still complex and current treatments used are linked to several side effects. This study aimed to identify possible biomarkers for tuberculosis by applying NGS techniques to obtain global miRNA expression profiles from 22 blood samples of infected patients with tuberculosis (n = 9), their respective healthy physicians (n = 6) and external healthy individuals as controls (n = 7). Samples were run through a pipeline consisting of differential expression, target genes, gene set enrichment and miRNA–gene network analyses. We observed 153 altered miRNAs, among which only three DEmiRNAs (hsa-let-7g-5p, hsa-miR-486-3p and hsa-miR-4732-5p) were found between the investigated patients and their respective physicians. These DEmiRNAs are suggested to play an important role in granuloma regulation and their immune physiopathology. Our results indicate that miRNAs may be involved in immune modulation by regulating gene expression in cells of the immune system. Our findings encourage the application of miRNAs as potential biomarkers for tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis is a global public health issue. Recent studies suggested association of host genetic factors to tuberculosis susceptibility in many populations. Polymorphisms can influence the host immune responses to tuberculosis. This study was designed to investigate the association of seventeen genetic polymorphisms with susceptibility and severity to tuberculosis in a sample of Brazilian population. Methods: This case-control study encompassed 283 active tuberculosis patients and 145 healthy subjects that had contact with the bacillus. Genotyping of 13 INDELs polymorphisms and 4 SNPs was achieved using Multiplex PCR method and TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. Results: Of the 17 investigated markers, only the ACE marker (rs4646994) showed significant differences between cases and controls. Conclusions: The DEL/DEL (deletion /deletion) genotype of the ACE marker configured a protection factor for the development of tuberculosis. As there is no data in the recent literature relating this polymorphism with tuberculosis in a Brazilian population, our study has become unprecedented.

Molecular studies regarding regulatory elements such as small ncRNAs and their mechanisms are poorly understood in infectious diseases. Tuberculosis is one of the oldest infectious diseases of humanity, and it is still a challenge to prevent and treat it. The control of the infection as well as its diagnosis are still complex, and treatments used are linked to several side effects. This study aimed to investigate miRNA’s expression profile to identify possible biomarkers for tuberculosis. We applied NGS techniques to investigate miRNA’s global expression profile from blood samples of infected patients with tuberculosis, their respective healthy physicians, and external healthy individuals as controls. Samples from 22 individuals run through a differential expression, target genes, gene set enrichment, and miRNA-gene network analysis. We observed 153 altered miRNAs, among which, only three DEmiRNAs (hsa-let-7g-5p, hsa-miR-486-3p and hsa-miR-4732-5p) were found between the investigated patients and their respective physicians. These DEmiRNAs are suggested to play an important role in granuloma regulation and their immune physiopathology. Our results propose that miRNAs may be involved in immune modulation, regulating the repertoire of genes expressed in the immune system’s cells. Our findings encourage the application of miRNAs as potential biomarkers for tuberculosis.