Susceptibility to anthrax toxin is a heritable genetic trait that may
vary tremendously among individuals, according to a new study by
researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Among 234 people studied, the cells of three people were virtually insensitive to the toxin, while the cells of some people were hundreds of times more sensitive than those of others. The findings may have important implications for national security, as people known to be more resistant to anthrax exposure could be effective first-line responders in times of crises.
The research also highlights the fact that many lethal pathogens, including HIV, malaria, leprosy and hepatitis, rely on interactions with host genes to infect and replicate within human cells. Inherited differences in the level of expression of these genes can lead to large variations in the relative susceptibility of different individuals to the pathogen.
The research was published online Feb. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The senior author of the report is professor of genetics Stanley N. Cohen, MD, the Kwoh-Ting Li Professor at the School of Medicine. Postdoctoral scholar Mikhail Martchenko, PhD, is the first author. Collaborating in analysis of the data were associate professor of genetics Hua Tang, PhD, and research associate Sophie Candille, PhD. The study was funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.
"Every pathogen has its own virulence strategy," said Stanford professor of microbiology and immunology and of medicine David Relman, MD, the chair of the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats and a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, who was not involved in the research. "We already knew that infection by the same organisms in different people can have different outcomes. But until now it's been very difficult to determine whether this variability was due to genetic or environmental factors. This is one of the few studies that has successfully identified a host-genetics-based molecular cause of this variability."
Relman is also the chief of infectious diseases at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, and the president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In addition, he was the vice chair of the National Academy of Sciences' committee charged in 2008 with reviewing the scientific approaches used in the FBI investigation of the anthrax attacks of 2001.
"This paper is an important contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms of host susceptibility to anthrax," said Alan Rudolph, PhD, the director of the Chemical and Biological Technologies Directorate at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. "We are committed to supporting outstanding science in this field and will seek opportunities to translate key discoveries such as this into useful applications in diagnostics and medical countermeasures for enhanced preparedness for the department of defense and global health security."
Among 234 people studied, the cells of three people were virtually insensitive to the toxin, while the cells of some people were hundreds of times more sensitive than those of others. The findings may have important implications for national security, as people known to be more resistant to anthrax exposure could be effective first-line responders in times of crises.
The research also highlights the fact that many lethal pathogens, including HIV, malaria, leprosy and hepatitis, rely on interactions with host genes to infect and replicate within human cells. Inherited differences in the level of expression of these genes can lead to large variations in the relative susceptibility of different individuals to the pathogen.
The research was published online Feb. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The senior author of the report is professor of genetics Stanley N. Cohen, MD, the Kwoh-Ting Li Professor at the School of Medicine. Postdoctoral scholar Mikhail Martchenko, PhD, is the first author. Collaborating in analysis of the data were associate professor of genetics Hua Tang, PhD, and research associate Sophie Candille, PhD. The study was funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.
"Every pathogen has its own virulence strategy," said Stanford professor of microbiology and immunology and of medicine David Relman, MD, the chair of the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats and a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, who was not involved in the research. "We already knew that infection by the same organisms in different people can have different outcomes. But until now it's been very difficult to determine whether this variability was due to genetic or environmental factors. This is one of the few studies that has successfully identified a host-genetics-based molecular cause of this variability."
Relman is also the chief of infectious diseases at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, and the president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In addition, he was the vice chair of the National Academy of Sciences' committee charged in 2008 with reviewing the scientific approaches used in the FBI investigation of the anthrax attacks of 2001.
"This paper is an important contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms of host susceptibility to anthrax," said Alan Rudolph, PhD, the director of the Chemical and Biological Technologies Directorate at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. "We are committed to supporting outstanding science in this field and will seek opportunities to translate key discoveries such as this into useful applications in diagnostics and medical countermeasures for enhanced preparedness for the department of defense and global health security."
0 comments:
Post a Comment