Abstract
Natural history studies of tuberculosis (TB) have revealed a spectrum of clinical outcomes after exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the cause of TB. Not all individuals exposed to the bacterium will become diseased and depending on the infection pressure, many will remain infection-free. Intriguingly, complete resistance to infection is observed in some individuals (termed resisters) after intense, continuing M. tuberculosis exposure. After successful infection, the majority of individuals will develop latent TB infection (LTBI). This infection state is currently (and perhaps imperfectly) defined by the presence of a positive tuberculin skin test (TST) and/or interferon gamma release assay (IGRA), but no detectable clinical disease symptoms. The majority of healthy individuals with LTBI are resistant to clinical TB, indicating that infection is remarkably well-contained in these non-progressors. The remaining 5–15% of LTBI positive individuals will progress to active TB. Epidemiological investigations have indicated that the host genetic component contributes to these infection and disease phenotypes, influencing both susceptibility and resistance. Elucidating these genetic correlates is therefore a priority as it may translate to new interventions to prevent, diagnose or treat TB. The most successful approaches in resistance/susceptibility investigation have focused on specific infection and disease phenotypes and the resister phenotype may hold the key to the discovery of actionable genetic variants in TB infection and disease. This review will not only discuss lessons from epidemiological studies, but will also focus on the contribution of epidemiology and functional genetics to human genetic resistance to M. tuberculosis infection and disease.
Introduction
Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, was the leading cause of death due to a single infectious agent in 2016, resulting in 1.6 million deaths (1). The bacterium is spread through the air by droplet nuclei containing M. tuberculosis from the lungs of individuals with active disease to the respiratory tract of uninfected individuals (). Infection by M. tuberculosis is a complex, multistage process progressing from the first encounter with the bacterium (Figure 1). For this reason a multistep course of disease has to be imagined (). After inhalation, the droplet nuclei move to the alveoli where the bacteria are phagocytosed by alveolar macrophages and dendritic cells. The phagocytosis of the bacterium invokes a strong host cellular immune response and a cascade of events is triggered that involves cytokines and chemokines (). Not all individuals exposed to the bacterium will become infected and depending on the infection pressure, many will remain free of infection. In infected individuals the bacteria will begin to replicate in the intracellular environment and migrate to lymph nodes in the lung through the lymphatic system (). In the first 2–8 weeks after infection, cell-mediated immunity will develop () and conversion to tuberculin reactivity takes place (). To limit the spread and replication of the bacteria, granulomas are formed by activated T lymphocytes and macrophages. The majority of individuals will remain asymptomatic and contain the bacterium, and enter a stage termed latent TB infection (LTBI). Remarkably, it is estimated that ~25% of the global population was latently infected with M. tuberculosis in 2014 (). At this stage the immune system can contain the infection, but if it fails, the infection may progress to active disease (). Only 5-15% of immunocompetent LTBI positive individuals will progress to clinical TB (). In these cases, the bacteria continue to replicate and disease symptoms will start to appear. Common symptoms of TB include persistent coughing, fever, coughing of blood, night sweats, weight loss, and chest pain. Diagnosis of pulmonary TB is possible through smear microscopy, bacterial culture of sputum or GeneXpert ().
Figure 1
LTBI is at present inferred from measures of acquired anti-mycobacterial immunity, such as a tuberculin skin test (TST) and/or interferon gamma release assay (IGRA). The TST was the original gold standard for LTBI diagnosis (
In the case of immediate bacterial clearance, or complete resistance to infection (observed in a small fraction of the population) the innate immune system will inactivate the bacteria at the site of infection without the stimulation of an acquired immune response. These individuals, recently labeled innate resisters by Simmons et al. will have continued negative TST or IGRA results despite heavy and continued exposure to M. tuberculosis and will not be at risk of clinical TB (
Genetic investigations of TB susceptibility have been ongoing for decades, but gained momentum in recent years due to the availability of improved methodological approaches and technological advances. The majority of studies made use of classical approaches employed by clinical genetics and genetic epidemiology (linkage and association studies), but these have encountered difficulties also faced by genetic investigations of other complex diseases. Three continuing challenges involve polygenicity, the definition of TB phenotypes and the collection of appropriately large study cohorts with carefully defined homogenous phenotypes (
Epidemiological evidence of genetic susceptibility to M. tuberculosis infection and clinical TB resistance
Epidemiological evidence confirms the presence of both resisters and non-progressor phenotypes in high exposure settings. Approximately 50% of close household contacts develop positive TST or IGRA tests (
In addition to these “experiments of nature,” animal models have provided important evidence for a contribution of host genetics to TB infection and progression to clinical disease. Different patterns of disease resistance after infection have been observed in guinea pigs and inbred strains of mice (
No review of TB susceptibility would be complete without a discussion of the Lübeck disaster. During this tragedy, which took place from December 1929, 251 infants over a time period of 4 months were vaccinated with BCG accidentally contaminated with varying amounts of virulent M. tuberculosis [reviewed by Fox et al. (
Isolated populations with little or no known past exposure to the TB bacterium, such as the indigenous populations of the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa, have a significantly higher TB mortality than non-indigenous populations whose ancestors had a longer mycobacterial exposure time (45–47). These observations support the “virgin soil” hypothesis, which postulates that the previous lack of exposure to a pathogen leads to hyper-susceptibility to infection, morbidity and mortality. Newer DNA evidence indicates that the M. tuberculosis complex was in fact already widespread around 4000 years ago in Ethiopia and TB infection was also found in western-central and western African individuals who arrived in Brazil as slaves during 1769–1830 (48, 49). The introduction of (European) TB strains possibly exacerbated by local host genetic factors and poor living conditions, contributed to the high mortality observed in these “naïve” populations (50). For example, analyses of the indigenous population of Canada, limited to the Qu'Appelle Agency located in Southeastern Saskatchewan, indicated an annual TB mortality rate of 10% in 1890 which fell to 0.2% after 40 years, but half of the population was eradicated (45). This is suggestive of a strong selection for TB resistance genes. More recent examples of the introduction of M. tuberculosis to underexposed populations is that of the Northern Aché of eastern Paraguay and the Yanomami Indians of the Brazilian Amazon (47, 51). Prevalence (18.2%) and infection (64.6%) rates in the Northern Aché quickly rose within 6 years of the first detected TB case (51). TST anergy, possibly reflecting reduced cell-mediated immune responses, and increased antibody responses were common in individuals with active TB from both these populations (47, 51). This could indicate that there has been no selection for TB resistance mechanisms in these groups. In contrast, the decline in TB incidence in North America and Europe during 1830–950, before the introduction of antimicrobial chemotherapy, has been ascribed to the increase of genetically determined resistance to TB due to natural selection after years of mycobacterial exposure (
Heritability, genetic epidemiology, and population genetics
Heritability, genetic epidemiology, and population genetic studies have made significant contributions to reveal the role of human genetic variation in susceptibility to TB infection. The investigations of TST and IGRA as quantitative traits have shown high heritability for both, conditional to M. tuberculosis exposure (TST above 50% and for IGRA between 30 and 50%). Heritability of quantitative TST reactivity (in mm) among young healthy children exposed to an active TB case was estimated at 92% in Chile (62). In the Gambia, the heritability of TST considered as a categorical trait and quantitative IGRA reactivity in healthy twins aged 12 to 83 years was estimated at 71 and 39%, respectively (63). In Colombia evidence was detected for a major co-dominant gene explaining ~65% of TST variability (64), and in a South African familial sample, the heritability of quantitative IGRA responses was estimated to be between 43 and 58%, depending on the nature of the stimulating antigen (65). Recent data from Uganda, carefully adjusted for shared environment, also detected significant heritability of interferon gamma in response to M. tuberculosis culture filtrate (23–35%), ESAT6 (15–48%), and Antigen 85B (11–34%) (66).
Only a few molecular studies have investigated the genetic factors underlying M. tuberculosis infection resistance using TST reactivity. Candidate gene association studies have focused on TST response as a binary trait according to various thresholds (0, 5, or 10 mm) with a weak association reported for interleukin 10 (IL10) promoter variants (67, 68). Increased IL-10 production may contribute to the suppression of adaptive immune responses (68). A candidate gene association study of autophagy-related genes and LTBI, defined by a TST response greater than 5 mm, identified an association between a non-coding Unc-51 Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1 gene (ULK1) variant and LTBI (69). A possibly associated role for ULK1 in the regulation of TNF secretion, both non-specific and M. tuberculosis–induced autophagy, and M. tuberculosis replication in monocytes was established (69). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of TST reactivity in HIV positive individuals from Tanzania and Uganda pinpointed a polymorphism on chromosome 5q31.1 that protected against M. tuberculosis infection (Table 1) (80). This variant is located near the gene encoding IL-9, which is produced by mast and Th2 cells during inflammatory responses and has been associated with bronchial responsiveness, possibly linking resistance against M. tuberculosis infection and airway inflammation (80). A GWAS in Iceland detected associations between TST positivity (induration size not specified) and HLA class II variants (Table 1) (79). An imputed GWAS was done in 4,426 cases with a self-reported positive TST (defined as the presence of an induration) and 84 290 controls selected from more than 200 000 23andMe participants with European ancestry who completed a questionnaire on infection history (81). The HLA rs2894257 variant on chromosome 6p21.32 was significantly associated with the presence of a TST induration (p = 8.16 × 10−36, OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.33–1.39) and then after further fine mapping of the locus multiple independent associations between a history of a positive TST and HLA were detected (Table 1) (81). The HLA class II region could contribute to infection resistance by reduced presentation of M. tuberculosis antigens to T cells (79). In Uganda, a genome-wide linkage analysis (GWLA) reported suggestive, but not significant, linkage of persistent TST negativity (defined as a TST < 10 or 5 mm according to age and HIV status) with chromosomal regions 2q21-2q24 and 5p13-5q22 (84). The chromosome 2q region was subsequently investigated using an association scan in two independent cohorts from Uganda and associations were found with variants in the Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) and Glycosyltransferase Like Domain Containing 1 (GTDC1) genes (85). These variants may regulate the histone deacetylase pathway, which has been implicated in infection resistance by transcriptomic investigations (discussed below) (86). Two loci were identified by GWLA in an HIV negative population from South Africa (87). TST1 was identified on chromosome 11p14 by focusing on the phenotype of TST > 0 mm vs. TST = 0 mm, and captures innate resistance to infection with M. tuberculosis. TST2 was mapped to region 5p15 and influences the intensity of TST reactivity - captured as TST induration in mm. Hence, TST2 reflects intensity of T-cell mediated anti-mycobacterial immune responses. The mapping of TST1 has been confirmed in an independent sample of different ethnic origins in France, and it was also shown that TST1 cannot be distinguished by linkage from TNF1, a locus controlling TNF production in response to BCG/IFN-gamma (88, 89).
Table 1
| Population | Phenotype | Cases | Controls | Variant | Gene | Odds ratio [95% CI] | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | TB | 921 | 1740 | rs4331426 | Gene desert (chromosome 18) | 1.19 [1.13–1.27] | (70) |
| Gambia | – | 1316 | 1382 | – | – | – | – |
| USA | Extrapulmonary TB | 48 | 57 | rs4893980 | PDE11A | 0.13 | (71) |
| – | – | – | – | rs10488286 | KCND2 | 11.15 | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs2026414 | PCDH15 | 3.11 | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs10487416 | Unknown gene | 5.56 | – |
| Thailand | Young TB | 433 | 295 | rs6071980 | HSPEP1, MAFB (intergenic, chromosome 20q12) | 1.73 [1.42–2.11] | (72) |
| Japan | – | 188 | 934 | – | – | – | – |
| Indonesia | Pulmonary TB | 108 | 115 | rs2273061 | JAG1 | 1.8 [1.18–2.72] | (73) |
| – | – | – | – | rs4461087 | DYNLRB2 | 1.62 [1.1–2.37] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs1051787 | EBF1 | 0.57 [0.38–0.88] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs10497744 | TMEFF2 | 0.55 [0.38–0.82] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs1020941 | TMEFF2 | 0.57 [0.38–0.83] | – |
| rs188872 | CCL17 | 0.51 [0.33–0.78] | – | ||||
| – | – | – | – | rs10245298 | HAUS6 | 2.37 [1.09–5.16] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs6985962 | PENK | 2.01 [1.12–3.61] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs1418267 | ERP44 | 3.19 [1.71–5.99] | – |
| Ghana | TB | 2127 | 5636 | rs2057178 | WT1 (intergenic) | 0.77 [0.71–0.84] | (74) |
| Gambia | – | 1207 | 1349 | – | – | 0.80 [0.70–0.91] | – |
| Russia | – | 1025 | 983 | – | – | 0.91 [0.82–0.99] | – |
| Indonesia | – | 4441 | 5874 | – | – | 0.84 [0.68–1.03] | – |
| South Africa | Pulmonary TB | 642 | 91 | rs2057178 | WT1 (intergenic) | 0.62 [0.50–0.75] | (75) |
| – | – | – | – | rs11031728 | WT1 (intergenic) | 0.61(0.50–0.75) | – |
| Russia | Pulmonary TB | 5530 | 5607 | rs4733781 | ASAP1 | 0.84 [0.79–0.89] | (76) |
| – | – | – | – | rs10956514 | ASAP1 | 0.85 [0.80–0.90] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs1017281 | ASAP1 | 0.85 [0.81–0.90] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs1469288 | ASAP1 | 0.84 [0.79–0.89] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs17285138 | ASAP1 | 0.85 [0.80–0.90] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs2033059 | ASAP1 | 0.83 [0.79–0.88] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs12680942 | ASAP1 | 0.84 [0.79–0.89] | – |
| Morocco | Pulmonary TB | 556 | 650 | rs358793 | Intergenic | 0.68 [0.57–0.82] | (77) |
| – | – | – | – | rs17590261 | Intergenic | 6.24 [2.38–16.33] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs6786408 | FOXP1 | 1.47 [1.23–1.79] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs916943 | AGMO | 1.86 [1.33–2.6] | – |
| Uganda | HIV positive TB resistance | 267 | 314 | rs4921437 | IL12B | 0.37 [0.27–0.53] | (78) |
| Tanzania | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Iceland | TST positivity | 8162 | 277643 | rs557011 | Between HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DRB1 | 1.25 [1.17–1.33] | (79) |
| – | – | – | – | rs9271378 | Between HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DRB1 | 0.78 [0.73–0.84] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs9272785 | HLA-DQA1 | 1.14 [1.09–1.19] | – |
| Uganda | TST reactivity | 224 | 225 | rs877356 | IL9 | 0.27 [0.17–0.42] | (80) |
| Tanzania | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 23 and Me (European ancestry) | Positive TST | 4426 | 84290 | rs2894257 | HLA | 1.36 [1.33–1.39] | (81) |
| China (Han Chinese) | Pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB | 4310 | 6386 | rs4240897 | MFN2 | 0.79 [0.75–0.83] | (82) |
| – | – | – | – | rs41553512 | HLA class II | 2.14 [1.78–2.57] | – |
| – | – | – | – | rs2269497 | RGS12 | 1.51 [1.35–1.68] | – |
| Thailand | Non-Beijing lineage-infected old age onset | 182 | 489 | rs1418425 | CD53 | 1.74 [1.43–2.12] | (83) |
GWAS of TB infection and disease phenotypes. Adapted from Kinnear et al.(
Compared to the study of M. tuberculosis infection resistance, a larger number of investigations have been published addressing the genetic factors that protect against or predispose to developing clinical TB. Indeed, 11 TB GWAS have been done using clinical TB as phenotype [Table 1, reviewed by (
Since the publication of previous reviews of clinical TB GWAS (
Clearly there is very little overlap with respect to the loci detected between the individual GWAS, but it seems that replication is more likely when populations with similar genetic backgrounds are compared. This was seen for the WT1 locus in West and South Africa and it is possible that the same HLA class II factors are being tagged in Icelandic and other European populations, but this is not known at this point (74, 75, 79, 81). When GWAS data from Han Chinese and Gambians were combined in a meta-analysis, no significant associations were detected (82). Deciphering the complete genetic architecture of a complex trait requires more than a single ancestry, as was the case for skin pigmentation genes and other phenotypes (90, 91). For this reason, population genetics also has to be considered in investigations of TB resistance (92). Excess European, South Asian and East Asian ancestry protects admixed South African individuals against active TB, whereas excess African ancestry increased the risk for developing disease. These disparities in disease incidence were harnessed in a TB admixture mapping study (75, 93). The contribution of ethnicity to TB resistance may be due to selection after centuries of exposure to M. tuberculosis (as discussed in the section “Early epidemiological evidence of natural TB resistance”). This is supported by findings that individuals with diverse genetic backgrounds have different rates of TB infection and disease progression (not affected by socio economic circumstances) and the intensity of immune responses differ (
Functional genetics
The mechanisms through which genetic variation contributes to TB resistance require functional follow-up to support statistical findings of epidemiological studies. Investigations of epigenetics, microRNAs, and other products of transcription can provide functions to these genetic variants, but can also identify novel genes and pathways involved with TB resistance (94).
Transcriptomics
Transcriptional profiles generated from blood cells have contributed to the elucidation of pathways involved in resistance to infection. Genome-wide transcriptional profiles from infected monocytes isolated from TST positive and persistently negative household contacts from Uganda who did not develop TB at least two years after follow-up were generated using microarrays (86). Pathways controlled by histone deacetylase were associated with resistance to M. tuberculosis infection and indicated that this function is vital in the early innate immune response to infection (86). Although this anti-inflammatory mechanism holds promise as a therapy, the in vitro findings may not extend to effects in vivo. The use of histone deacetylase inhibitors did not increase survival in a sepsis model (95) and histone deacetylase-related genes were also expressed in TST positive individuals (86). In a non-human primate model, a signature of 34 pre-infection transcripts could differentiate between animals that would progress to active disease or develop LTBI (96). Twelve of the upregulated transcripts were associated with interferon, cell cycle and inflammation processes. When the outcome was stratified based on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography coupled with computed tomography (PET CT), 30 pre-infection transcripts were differentially expressed between animals with low and high FDG avidity. The differentially expressed genes did not correspond to the clinical status or lung avidity groups, but function in the same pathways related to inflammation and interferon (96). The inherent genetic ability of the host to upregulate these pathways may correspond to poor infection outcomes (96). Importantly, both studies underline that a balanced inflammatory response, regulated by the host genome, is critical to determine the outcome of infection (86, 96).
Although genome-wide transcriptomic studies of TB infection resistance are in their infancy, many studies have identified blood gene expression signatures for the classification of the TB pathogenesis stages (including the diagnosis of active TB) and monitoring of treatment efficacy (97–112). The value of these studies lies in their predictive accuracy, since TST and IGRAs cannot fulfill this function (
Epigenetics
The contribution of epigenetic mechanisms to the regulation of inflammatory immune responses in TB is an emerging field and evaluations of the genetic regulation of transcriptomic responses can assist in revealing the biology of TB host resistance (118). Epigenetic regulation incorporates all chromosomal modifications that alter gene expression without changing the underlying coding DNA nucleotide sequence, such as DNA methylation and histone acetylation. Methylation events in monocytes and granulocytes could discriminate between TB cases and healthy LTBI controls (119).
Histone modifications have been linked to mTOR dependent regulation of glucose and glutamine metabolism in BCG-trained monocytes and macrophages, with histone H3 trimethylation of lysine 4 (H3K4me3) found to be significantly increased at the promotors of mTOR, HK2 and PFKP, while trimethylation of lysine 9 (H3Kme3) was significantly decreased (120). Histone H3 hypoacetylation, specifically at lysine 14 (H3K14ac) was associated with active pulmonary TB (121) as well as being essential for the activation of several pro-inflammatory cytokines (122, 123). Interestingly, the macrophage response to different immune challenges can result in the generation of histone marks associated with de novo enhancer elements (124, 125). These marks have been hypothesized to cause the epigenetic reprogramming of the macrophages leading to a stronger transcriptional response to a second stimulus (124). In addition to histone modifications, recent data suggests that DNA methylation also plays a significant role in in the reprogramming of innate immune cells and the regulation of transcriptional programs following M. tuberculosis infection (126).
Epigenetic modification of histone acetylation in monocyte-derived macrophages plays a significant regulatory role in M. tuberculosis-dependent gene expression and in the secretion of matrix metalloproteinase enzymes driving immunopathology. Modification of histone acetylases has implications for TB resistance too, based on the findings of Seshadri et al. discussed above (86). Variants in the regulatory regions of over 700 genes that were up- or downregulated after M. tuberculosis infection of monocyte-derived dendritic cells significantly influenced gene expression regardless of the stimulation status of cells. (127). These variants are expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and a subset of these (response-eQTL) were dependent on M. tuberculosis stimulation, indicating that epigenetic effects contribute to TB pathogenesis (126). Manipulating these regulatory mechanisms may have potential as host-directed therapy (128).
MicroRNAs
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in TB pathogenesis (129). MiRNAs are short, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate mRNA translation and degradation and affect the function of many immune cell types (129). Used as markers, miRNAs can distinguish between active disease, LTBI or other microbial infections (130–137), and also influence TB susceptibility, specifically miR-155 and miR-223 (138–141). MiR-223 directly targeted chemoattractants such as CXCL2, CCL3, and IL-6 to control neutrophil driven inflammation (138, 139). When miR-223 was deleted in a TB resistant mouse model these animals became extremely susceptible to TB, but the phenotype could be partly restored through the neutralization of the abovementioned chemoattractants (138). miR-155 was highly expressed after mycobacterial infection both in vivo and in vitro (139). The induced expression of miR-155 enhanced the autophagic response in macrophages thereby stimulating mycobacterial phagosome maturation and reducing the survival rate of intracellular mycobacteria. In contrast, when miR-155 was inhibited, there was increased mycobacterial survival. The mechanism of action of miR-155 is through the targeting of Ras homolog enrich in brain (Rheb), a known negative regulator of autophagy. When miR-155 was bound to the 3'-untranslated region of Rheb, both autophagy and intracellular killing of mycobacteria were increased (139). In addition to expression analysis, genetic variants in miR-499 and miR-146a were associated with pulmonary TB susceptibility in a case-control association study (142).
Transgenic animals
Although the animal models (discussed in the section “Early epidemiological evidence of natural TB resistance”) were initially used to study the natural occurrence of TB resistance, advances in molecular genetic techniques have facilitated the creation of resistant species. Transgenic cattle with a knock-in SP110 nuclear body protein (SP110) gene were created using transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-mediated genome modification (143). The mouse homolog of this gene, Ipr1, was previously shown to mediate innate immunity in sst1 congenic mice and SP110 variants were associated in some settings with human pulmonary TB (144, 145), but not others (146–149). In the transgenic cattle apoptosis instead of necrosis was activated after infection (143). In vivo and in vitro experiments indicated that these animals could control growth and proliferation of M. bovis. Significantly, transmission experiments using tuberculous cattle indicated that the transgenic animals were resistant to low dose M. bovis infection (143).
Controversies, current research gaps, and future developments
The four complementary theories of infectious disease propose that inter-individual variability in presentation depends on four factors, namely microbiological, ecological, immunological, and genetic (150). These elements not only intersect but are all required to dissect a complex infection phenotype such as TB resistance (150). To delineate the contribution of genetic factors will require innovative new approaches to combine available data sets to understand the resistance phenomenon, in particular in HIV-infected persons. Integrated clinical and laboratory defined phenotypes, whole genome sequencing, epigenetic and transcriptomic studies will be required to address this challenge.
The co-evolution of M. tuberculosis and humans has shaped host-pathogen interactions for thousands of years and has likely contributed to the diverse range of responses after infection including the phenotype of the TB resister (50, 61, 151). Host-pathogen interaction investigations are however complicated by the genetic heterogeneity of the bacterium (50). One approach is to use M. tuberculosis pathogen lineage information as was done for a TB GWAS in Thailand (Table 1) and several candidate gene association studies (83, 152–155). Despite the challenges, developments in this area could in future be used to design targeted vaccines and therapies directed to specific populations or individuals (50).
Several TB GWAS have interrogated resistance to disease, but most of these have been underpowered due to the extreme phenotypic heterogeneity. Meta-analyses can provide a solution to this problem and could provide insight into population-specific associations by harnessing linkage disequilibrium to fine map associations. The International TB Host Genetics Consortium has been established to collate TB GWAS data from individuals with pulmonary TB and healthy controls to do a large-scale meta-analysis (156). This large-scale approach will not be feasible to investigate persistently TST/IGRA negative individuals, since phenotyping is a costly process and requires several repeat assays to exclude those who revert and convert. Fortunately, since the TB resister phenotype is at the end of the TB susceptibility spectrum, it is possible that variants contributing to this extreme phenotype can be detected in limited sample sizes, as has been seen in investigations of HIV-infected participants who do not become infected or progress to active TB despite living in a TB endemic region (86, 78).
Finally, genome sequencing technologies, which are already used to diagnose individuals with Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases, will deliver resistance variants not captured by microarray genotyping and imputing. Once genomes from TB resisters are available for data mining and analysis in system biology approaches—which will include transcriptomics, epigenomics, microbiomics, and other omics, we may be able to achieve prediction of individuals genetically determined as resistant.
Conclusion
The involvement of a human genetic component in susceptibility to infection with M. tuberculosis and progression to active disease is incontestable. Findings from clinical genetics, genetic epidemiology, population and functional genetics have all contributed to identify TB susceptibility genes. More intriguing is the other side of the phenotypic coin—that of resistance to either initial infection or, after infection, resistance to progression to disease. Although the phenomenon is now recognized, the exact genetic variants and mechanisms that contribute still require elucidation. The most successful approaches in resistance/susceptibility investigation have focused on specific infection and disease phenotypes and the resister phenotype may hold the key to the discovery of actionable genetic variants in TB infection and disease.
Statements
Author contributions
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.
Funding
This research was partially funded by the South African government through the South African Medical Research Council. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the South African Medical Research Council. This work was also supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. Work in the laboratory of ES is supported by a Foundation grant from CIHR (FDN-143332).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer CM declared a past co-authorship with the authors MM, PvH and EH to the handling editor.
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Summary
Keywords
host genetics, resistance, tuberculosis, resisters, susceptibility
Citation
Möller M, Kinnear CJ, Orlova M, Kroon EE, van Helden PD, Schurr E and Hoal EG (2018) Genetic Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and Disease. Front. Immunol. 9:2219. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02219
Received
26 June 2018
Accepted
07 September 2018
Published
27 September 2018
Volume
9 - 2018
Edited by
Thomas Richard Hawn, University of Washington, United States
Reviewed by
Sharvan Sehrawat, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, India; Christian G. Meyer, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Universität Tübingen, Germany
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Copyright
© 2018 Möller, Kinnear, Orlova, Kroon, van Helden, Schurr and Hoal.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Marlo Möller marlom@sun.ac.za
This article was submitted to Microbial Immunology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Immunology
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