DNA analysis reveals weapon our immune cells use to fight tuberculosis

A study led by A*STAR's Singapore Genome Institute (GIS) and Infectious Diseases Laboratory (ID Labs) has identified a gene called KCNJ15 that is linked to helping our immune system fight tuberculosis (TB) and other potential diseases.

The team used high-throughput genomic technology to study how DNA packaging changes in blood cells when a person has active TB

They discovered a gene called KCNJ15, which regulates potassium in cells and is one of the weapons the immune system uses to fight TB

Shyam Role, PhD, associate director of the Space and Single-Cell Systems and Systems Biology Laboratory & Principal Investigator in GIS Data Analysis, and the study's corresponding author, said: "The role of histone acetylation has been implicated in multiple studies of tuberculosis and other infections.

Amit Singhal, PhD, Principal Investigator in the ID Lab and co-corresponding author of the study, said: "Our study highlights how respiratory infections affect the chromatin structure and transcriptional program of host cells

Professor Patrick Tan, Executive Director of GIS, said: "Proteins like KCNJ15 may play a role in protecting us from multiple infectious diseases

Professor Lisa Ng, Executive Director of the ID Laboratory, said: "Tuberculosis is a global disease that is becoming more deadly and difficult to treat as resistance to existing antibiotics continues to increase

article title

Histone acetylome-wide associations in immune cells from individuals with active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection