Washington: In a finding that could help
make a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, Canadian scientists have
identified genes that protect some people from the disease.
A study involving 128 South African families has
found genetic traits that protect some people from
the deadly infectious disease, the Journal of Experimental
Medicine reported.
Tuberculosis is the world`s seventh-leading cause of
death, killing 1.8 million people worldwide in 2008, about
half a million of whom also had AIDS.
The study could help reveal mechanisms behind natural
resistance against TB infection, the researchers from McGill
University`s Department of Human Genetics, Canada, said.
"The take-home message is that to be infected or not
infected is not a matter of luck. It is a characteristic of
individuals and therefore can be manipulated to prevent
infection," the team said.
They said that there are, in fact, big advantages
because if it is in your genome, it means these are factors
you can identify. Once you identify them, you can target them
in people who are actually prone to infection.
After studying the genes of the people, they detected
genetic patterns among children who were infected with TB and
those who were not, particularly relating to two specific
chromosomes. "We found chromosome 11 and chromosome 5 that
were enriched in particular children," they added.
The researchers will clone the genes that appear to
provide protection, then do studies to try to figure out how
the genes led to the resistance.
PTI