Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health...cans-may-be-more-susceptible-to-tuberculosis/
Study Explains Why Africans May Be More Susceptible To Tuberculosis
July 25, 2013
Low expression of immune response gene ?MIF? increased risk for TB
A researcher from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues have identified the genetic mutation in Africans with HIV that puts them at a much higher risk for tuberculosis (TB) infections.
Africans have some of the highest rates of TB in the world, and it has long been suspected that genetic susceptibility plays a role. However, establishing candidate genes across populations to gauge risk has remained a challenge.
Now, a new study, published this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that a commonly occurring polymorphism in an immune response gene called macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) confers almost a two-and-a-half fold increased risk for severe TB in patients from Uganda who were co-infected with HIV.
Low-expressers of MIF were almost twice as common among people of African ancestry as Caucasians...
Study Explains Why Africans May Be More Susceptible To Tuberculosis
July 25, 2013
Low expression of immune response gene ?MIF? increased risk for TB
A researcher from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues have identified the genetic mutation in Africans with HIV that puts them at a much higher risk for tuberculosis (TB) infections.
Africans have some of the highest rates of TB in the world, and it has long been suspected that genetic susceptibility plays a role. However, establishing candidate genes across populations to gauge risk has remained a challenge.
Now, a new study, published this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that a commonly occurring polymorphism in an immune response gene called macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) confers almost a two-and-a-half fold increased risk for severe TB in patients from Uganda who were co-infected with HIV.
Low-expressers of MIF were almost twice as common among people of African ancestry as Caucasians...