Transcriptional profiling of NK cells from tuberculosis patients

NK cells were purified from peripheral blood of healthy controls (n = 5), individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (n = 5), and active tuberculosis patients (n = 5). Total RNA was isolated from purified NK cells using RNA Isolation Kit (Dongsheng, R1061) according to the manufacturer's instructions. RNA Sequencing was conducted using the Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform (Novogene Bioinformatics Technology Co., Ltd.) with paired-end 150-bp reads. Patients with ATB were diagnosed by significant symptoms of TB with a positive result of T-SPOT.TB test (a commercially available IGRA method) , and were further confirmed by Mtb culture of respiratory specimens. LTBI individuals were healthcare workers with positive T-SPOT.TB results but without any clinical TB symptoms. The individuals without known history of exposure to Mtb were included as healthy control (HC) subjects based on negative results of both T-SPOT.TB and PPD skin reactivity tests. ATB patients and LTBI individuals were recruited from Beijing Chest Hospital, a TB specialized hospital in China. All Hhealthy control individuals were recruited form Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All participants aged ≥16 years, and had no significant other medical history such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, cancers and diabetes.