Host Immune Factors Related to Susceptibility to Tuberculosis in Animal Models

Review Article

J Immun Res. 2015;2(1): 1014.

Host Immune Factors Related to Susceptibility to Tuberculosis in Animal Models

Ding F1 and Kong Y1*

1Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, USA

*Corresponding author: Ying Kong, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, USA

Received: December 17, 2014; Accepted: January 19, 2015; Published: January 21, 2015

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) along with AIDS and malaria constitute the three most deadly infectious diseases faced by all human kinds. Recent advances in diagnosis, drugs and vaccines as well as other TB related researches have shed light on the development of new strategies for prevention, treatment and control of the disease. Among those studies, improved understanding of the interplay between the bacterium and host is critical. The final outcome of bacterial infection is determined by multiple factors such as bacterial virulence factors, host susceptibility factors, the interplay between pathogen and host immunity. The importance of host genetic factors to the susceptibility of TB has long been realized and extensively studied in both human and animal models over the past decade. This review is intended to summarize the recent progress in studies of host immune factors related to TB susceptibility identified from animal models.

Keywords: Immune; Mycobacterium; Tuberculosis; Susceptibility

Abbreviations

TB: Tuberculosis; AIDS: Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome; IL: InterLeukin; IFN: Interferon; MHC: Major Histocompatibility Complex; TAP: Transporter Associated with antigen Processing; ER: Endoplasmic Reticulum; NOS: Nitric Oxide Synthase; NRAMP1: Natural Resistance Associated Macrophage Protein 1; RNI: Reactive Nitrogen Intermediates; ROI: Reactive Oxygen Intermediates; SP: Surfactant Protein; STAT: Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription; IRF: Interferon Regulatory Factor; TPL-2- ERK1/2: Tumor Progression Locus 2- Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinase1/2; TNF: Tumor Necrosis Factor; TNFR: Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor; MCP-1: Monocyte Chemo attractant Protein-1; CCR: C-C Chemokine Receptor type 2; CXCR: Chemokine (C-X-C motif) Receptor; ICAM-1: Intra Cellular Adhesion Molecule-1; TLR: Toll-Like Receptor; QTL: Quantitative Trait Locus; GM-CSFR: Granulocyte/Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; Gab2: Growth factor receptor bound protein-2 Associated binding protein -2

Introduction

About one-third of the world’s population has been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the major causative pathogen of tuberculosis (TB). However, only about 10% of M. tuberculosis infected people develop into active TB [1]. It remains elusive why M. tuberculosis can stay in the host without causing clinical symptoms. Though the final outcome of M. tuberculosis infection is determined by many factors such as environmental, bacterial and genetic components, many studies have confirmed that host genetic factors played important roles in TB disease.

In 1926, the same dose of virulent M. tuberculosis strain was accidentally injected into 251 babies in Lubeck, Germany. Among them, 174 finally survived, including 47 who did not develop clinical disease and 127 who had radiological signs of TB [2, 3]. It has also been observed for over 100 years that people of different races have different susceptibility to TB. When TB was introduced to Qu’appelle Indians in 1890, it caused a 10% death rate initially and then dropped to 0.2%. This phenomena might be due to about 40 years of strong selection pressure against TB-resistance genes [4].

Currently, there are still remarkable racial differences in prevalence of the disease, which was often shown by a higher resistance to TB among White population than among Black population. It has been reasoned that those racial differences might due to social factors instead of genetic ones. However, a study done in Arkansas nursing home residents showed that Blacks with African ancestry were twice as likely to have TB as Whites with European ancestry, which could not be explained by any social or environmental factors [5]. A few other studies on twins have found that monozygotic twins have higher concordance for TB than dizygotic twins [6, 7]. All these evidences prompt us to ask: what kind of roles do host genetic factors play in the pathogenesis of TB?

Along with those studies mentioned above, other investigations such as adoption studies [8], genome wide linkage analyses [9] and population based association studies [10, 11], all indicated that host genetics play important roles in the susceptibility or resistance to TB. Additional evidence that corroborated the involvement of human genome in TB susceptibility was from the discovery of individuals with the rare human syndrome of Mendelian susceptible to mycobacterial disease. Those individuals were found to have mutations in genes of interleukin 12 beta (IL-12β), IL-12 receptor β-1, and interferongamma (IFN-γ) receptor 1 & 2, which caused them more susceptible to even non-pathogenic mycobacteria [12]. The repertoire of genetic factors involved in the susceptibility to TB is now continuing to grow.

Studies of animal models of M. tuberculosis infections have also suggested that genetic factors are important determinants of susceptibility to TB disease. For example, inbred strains of rabbits exhibited both resistant and susceptible patterns of disease after infection with virulent M. bovis [13]. Inbred strains of mice also demonstrated different patterns of disease after infection of virulent M. tuberculosis [14]. The availability of inbred, congenic, recombinant and mutant mouse strains, along with the complete information on mouse genome and the immunity similar to human have made the mouse a popular model for screening genetic factors involved in TB disease. In this review, we will discuss the host genetic factors involved in TB identified to date using animal models.

TB Susceptible Genes Identified from Animal Models

Animal models with M. tuberculosis infection confirmed host genetic factors play vital roles in the susceptibility to TB. Mice of the I/St strain are extremely susceptible to M. tuberculosis infection but resistant to M. avium infection, whereas C57BL/6 mice have a reversed pattern of susceptibility [15]. Further study indicated that characteristics of pathology are largely determined by the level of susceptibility of the host to distinct mycobacterial species, underscoring the importance of host genetics in pathogenesis of TB [15]. Galina Shepelkova et al. profiled the gene expression files in the lungs of TB resistant A/Sn and TB-susceptible I/St mice and found that resistant A/Sn mice have stronger expression of genes involved in activation of host defense pathways compared to their susceptible counterparts, while the susceptible strain upregulated specific genes encoding cysteine protease inhibitors [16]. The TB susceptibility loci found through studies of animal models, particularly inbred genetically modified mice are listed in Table 1.

Citation: Ding F and Kong Y. Host Immune Factors Related to Susceptibility to Tuberculosis in Animal Models. J Immun Res. 2015;2(1): 1014. ISSN:2471-0261