Influence of NOD-like receptor 2 gene polymorphisms on muramyl dipeptide induced pro-inflammatory response in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and household contacts.

PURPOSE: The immune response induced by nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-2(NOD2) is associated with the production of cytokines affected by the host's genetic background. The present study aimed to examine the effects of NOD2; 802C > T, 2105G > A polymorphisms associated with altered cytokine levels in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis disease, Latent TB subjects (household contacts(HHC) and healthy controls(HC). METHODS: Genetic polymorphisms were analyzed by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism(RFLP) in 102-PTB patients, 102-HHC, and 132-HC. QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test was performed to identify latent TB infection in 60-HHC. Estimated their cytokine levels by ELISA in MDP (muramyl dipeptide) stimulated culture supernatants of all the groups. Further, we studied pre-mRNA structures by insilico analysis and relative gene expression by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Recessive genetic models of NOD2 802C > T SNP with TT genotype and AA genotype of NOD2 2105G > A SNP were significantly associated with increased TB risk in PTB patients and HHC compared with HC. In vitro stimulations were performed with NOD2 ligand MDP in PTB patients and latent TB subjects: QuantiFERON positive household contacts (QFT + ve HHC)and QuantiFERON negative household contacts(QFT-ve HHC). The results showed that reduced TNF-α and enhanced IL-12, IL-1ß indicate that these cytokines may play an essential role in the initial maintenance of cell-mediated immunity. Our study demonstrated the correlation between NOD2 polymorphism with IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-12 levels. Insilico analysis represents the pre-mRNA secondary structures affected by NOD2 SNPs. We also observed the difference in m RNA levels in variant and wild genotypes. CONCLUSION: This finding may lead to the forthcoming development of immunotherapy and may be used as predictive markers to identify high-risk individuals for TB disease.

A SNP upstream of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) gene protects from relapse and extra-pulmonary TB and relates to BCG vaccination status in an Indian cohort.

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is a major health care threat worldwide causing over a million deaths annually. Host-pathogen interaction is complex, and a strong genetic contribution to disease susceptibility has been proposed. We have investigated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within cGAS/STING in Indian TB patients and healthy cohorts from India and Germany by Lightcycler®480 genotyping technique. The cGAS/STING pathway is an essential defense pathway within the cytosol after M.tb is internalized and mycobacterial DNA is released inducing the production of type I IFNs. We found that the rs311686 SNP upstream of cGAS provides protection from getting TB overall and is differently distributed in pulmonary TB patients compared with extra-pulmonary and particularly relapse cases. This SNP furthermore differs in distribution when comparing individuals with respect to BCG vaccination status. Taken together, our results show that the presence of the rs311686 SNP influences the course of TB significantly. However, structural conformation changes were found only for the cGAS rs610913 SNP. These findings underscore the importance of M.tb DNA recognition for TB pathogenesis and may eventually help in risk stratification of individuals. This may ultimately help in prevention of disease and aid in developing new vaccination and treatment strategies.

IL-6 and IL-18 cytokine gene variants of pulmonary tuberculosis patients with co-morbid diabetes mellitus and their household contacts in Hyderabad.

PURPOSE: Association of cytokine genes reflects their susceptibility towards infection and disease in household contacts (HHC) of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients. Hyperglycemia, a common factor in diabetics might influence their risk towards mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease development. This study determines the association of IL-6 and IL-18 cytokine gene variants of TB patients with diabetes mellitus (TBDM) and their HHC in Hyderabad. METHODS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms of IL-6 (-174 G>C and -572 G>C) and IL-18 (-137 G>C and -607 C>A) cytokine genes were genotyped by Amplification Refractory Mutation System and Restriction Fragment Length polymerase chain reaction in total of 705 subjects comprising of TBDM, their HHC, PTB, DM and Healthy controls (HC). RESULTS: At IL-6 -174G>C variant, GG genotype, G allele in TBDM and TBDM HHC, at -572G>C variant, C allele in TBDM and GG haplotype in TBDM HHC were showing positive association, however DM have not shown any association at IL-6 polymorphic sites. With respect to the IL-18 gene polymorphisms, at -137 G>C variant, GG genotype was positively associated in PTB while at -607 C>A variant positive association was shown with AC genotype in TBDM, their HHC and DM; GACC diplotype in TBDM and GCGC in PTB. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that susceptible combination of IL-6 and IL-18 cytokine genes associated with disease in the HHCs highlight their risk of inclination towards the disease.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Zinc Metalloprotease-1 Elicits Tuberculosis-Specific Humoral Immune Response Independent of Mycobacterial Load in Pulmonary and Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients.

Conventionally, facultative intracellular pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the tuberculosis (TB) causing bacilli in human is cleared by cell-mediated immunity (CMI) with CD4(+) T cells playing instrumental role in protective immunity, while antibody-mediated immunity (AMI) is considered non-protective. This longstanding convention has been challenged with recent evidences of increased susceptibility of hosts with compromised AMI and monoclonal antibodies conferring passive protection against TB and other intracellular pathogens. Therefore, novel approaches toward vaccine development include strategies aiming at induction of humoral response along with CMI. This necessitates the identification of mycobacterial proteins with properties of immunomodulation and strong immunogenicity. In this study, we determined the immunogenic potential of M. tuberculosis Zinc metalloprotease-1 (Zmp1), a secretory protein essential for intracellular survival and pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis. We observed that Zmp1 was secreted by in vitro grown M. tuberculosis under granuloma-like stress conditions (acidic, oxidative, iron deficiency, and nutrient deprivation) and generated Th2 cytokine microenvironment upon exogenous treatment of peripheral blood mononulear cells PBMCs with recombinant Zmp1 (rZmp1). This was supported by recording specific and robust humoral response in TB patients in a cohort of 295. The anti-Zmp1 titers were significantly higher in TB patients (n = 121) as against healthy control (n = 62), household contacts (n = 89) and non-specific infection controls (n = 23). A significant observation of the study is the presence of equally high titers of anti-Zmp1 antibodies in a range of patients with high bacilli load (sputum bacilli load of 300+ per mL) to paucibacillary smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. This clearly indicated the potential of Zmp1 to evoke an effective humoral response independent of mycobacterial load. Such mycobacterial proteins can be explored as antigen candidates for prime-boost vaccination strategies or extrapolated as markers for disease detection and progression.

Polymorphisms of IFN-γ (+874A/T) and IL-12 (+1188A/C) in tuberculosis patients and their household contacts in Hyderabad, India.

Several cytokine gene variants have shown to be associated with host susceptibility to infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB). High rates of transmission were identified within household members of TB patients. In this study, we examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms of IFN-γ +874A/T and IL-12 +1188A/C affect susceptibility to TB. Genomic DNA from patients with active disease, their household contacts HHC and healthy controls HC was genotyped for IFN-γ +874A/T and IL-12 +1188A/C SNPs by amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR). IFN-γ +874 AA and AT genotypes were significantly with different frequencies in patients and total HHC as compared to HC (p<0.0001). In patients IL-12 +1188 AC and CC genotypes were associated with TB (p<0.003, p<0.008). In total HHC AC, CC genotypes and both alleles (A&C) were significantly different as compared to HC (p<0.004, p<0.001, p<0.034) and the same result was obtained when HHC were stratified into related (p<0.02, p<0.001) and unrelated (p<0.009, p<0.017) individuals. Allelic frequencies, however, were significant only in related contacts (p<0.021). Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction method (GMDR) testing revealed high risk combinations of several genotypes in IFN-γ & IL-12 genes. Our findings suggest an important role of genetic variations of IFN-γ and IL-12 for susceptibility to TB.

Cytokine production and mRNA expression in pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their household contacts of younger age group (15-25years).

Household contacts of tuberculosis patients are at high risk of infection and development of active disease. In this study we evaluated the cytokine production and mRNA expression of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10&IL-6 stimulated with r32kDa M. bovis BCGAg in active pulmonary tuberculosis patients (APTB), household contacts (HHC) and healthy controls (HC). The results showed the stimulated levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α were low while IL-10 levels were high in APTB and HHC compared to HC. IL-6 has not shown any significant difference. The mRNA expression of TNF- α was 8 fold high in HCs compared to APTB and HHC. The IL-6 expression was 2.2 fold &1 fold less in APTB and HHC compared to HCs. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that the stimulated levels of IFN-γ & IL-6 and sex significantly predicted the HHC group from HCs at p<0.05.In conclusion further follow up studies with r32kd antigen might help to identify the high risk individuals.

Evaluation of TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-6 Cytokine Production and Their Correlation with Genotype Variants amongst Tuberculosis Patients and Their Household Contacts.

BACKGROUND: Household contacts of diagnostically established tuberculosis (TB) patients are highly susceptible to disease development. It is surmised that cytokines perhaps play a synergistic and a prognostic role in the activation of the otherwise latent infection in these house hold contacts. Evaluation of the cytokines and any of their inherent polymorphisms might provide a useful diagnostic tool in evaluating the immune regulation and the progression of the disease. The cytokines thus released in a paracrine manner in serum may also provide an indirect measure of the cytokine function. OBJECTIVE: The present study was aimed to evaluate the levels of TNF-α, IL-10 & IL-6 cytokines and their correlation with genotype variants amongst tuberculosis patients and their household contacts. METHODS: The cytokine levels were estimated in serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and their polymorphisms were studied by amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (ARMs PCR) in active pulmonary tuberculosis patients (APTB = 150), household contacts (HHC = 190), and healthy controls (HC = 150). RESULTS: The median values of TNF-α cytokine were significantly high among APTB and HHC compared to HCs (P< 0.0001 and 0.0001). IL-6 levels also were elevated among APTB compared to HHC and HC, and a significant difference was observed between APTB and HHC at P<0.0001; APTB & HC at P< 0.04; HHC & HC at P< 0.01. The IL-10 levels were low in APTB compared to HHC and HCs and no significant difference was observed. TNF-α/IL-10 ratio was significant and indicated Th1 predominance in APTB and HHC. IL-6/IL-10 showed pronounced Th1 expression in APTB and Th2 in HHC and HC. The ROC analysis indicated that both IL-10 and IL-6 can be used to decide the risk of exposed individual to a disease. The results of multivariate analysis indicate that IL-10 (-1082) GA genotype was significantly associated with p<0.028 in APTB. No significant association was observed between genotypes, other serum cytokine levels and clinical characteristics between APTB, HHC and HCs. CONCLUSION: Large sample size with follow-up at different time points may further illuminate the role of IL-10 and IL-6 cytokines as a prognostic marker in house hold contacts.

Role of IFN-γ and IL-6 cytokines and their association in determining susceptibility to chronic idiopathic urticaria.

Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (CIU) is a common skin disorder, which may occur spontaneously. The aim of the present study was to assess the serum levels of interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-6 and to examine the association of IFN-γ+874 T/A and IL-6-174 G/C cytokine gene polymorphisms. To accomplish this, ELISA-based cytokine serum levels of IFN-γ (n=30) and IL-6 (n=30) in CIU patients (n=100) and Healthy Controls (HC) (n=200) were performed. Amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) was performed to verify the positional significance. A significant (p<0.0001) increase in the serum cytokine levels of IFN-γ and IL-6 was recorded in CIU patients compared to HC. The AT and TT genotypes of IFN-γ and GG genotype of IL-6 were found to be significantly associated with CIU. In conclusion, our findings show a significant increase in the cytokine levels of IFN-γ and IL-6, highlighting their regulatory role in the development of disease. In addition to this, association studies have revealed that TT genotype of IFN-γ +874 T/A and GG genotype of IL-6-174 G/C were susceptible towards the CIU.

Mycobacterial and HIV infections up-regulated human zinc finger protein 134, a novel positive regulator of HIV-1 LTR activity and viral propagation.

BACKGROUND: Concurrent occurrence of HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) infections influence the cellular environment of the host for synergistic existence. An elementary approach to understand such coalition at the molecular level is to understand the interactions of the host and the viral factors that subsequently effect viral replication. Long terminal repeats (LTR) of HIV genome serve as a template for binding trans-acting viral and cellular factors that regulate its transcriptional activity, thereby, deciding the fate of HIV pathogenesis, making it an ideal system to explore the interplay between HIV and the host. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, using biotinylated full length HIV-1 LTR sequence as bait followed by MALDI analyses, we identified and further characterized human-Zinc-finger-protein-134 (hZNF-134) as a novel positive regulator of HIV-1 that promoted LTR-driven transcription and viral production. Over-expression of hZNF-134 promoted LTR driven luciferase activity and viral transcripts, resulting in increased virus production while siRNA mediated knockdown reduced both the viral transcripts and the viral titers, establishing hZNF-134 as a positive effector of HIV-1. HIV, Mycobacteria and HIV-TB co-infections increased hZNF-134 expressions in PBMCs, the impact being highest by mycobacteria. Corroborating these observations, primary TB patients (n = 22) recorded extraordinarily high transcript levels of hZNF-134 as compared to healthy controls (n = 16). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: With these observations, it was concluded that hZNF-134, which promoted HIV-1 LTR activity acted as a positive regulator of HIV propagation in human host. High titers of hZNF-134 transcripts in TB patients suggest that up-regulation of such positive effectors of HIV-1 upon mycobacterial infection can be yet another mechanism by which mycobacteria assists HIV-1 propagation during HIV-TB co-infections. hZNF-134, an uncharacterized host protein, thus assumes a novel regulatory role during HIV-host interactions. Our study provides new insights into the emerging role of zinc finger proteins in HIV-1 pathogenesis.