RNAseq to understand the host transcriptome during nontuberculous mycobacterial lung infection

We sought to elucidate the differentially expressed host factors in bronchoalveolar lavage cells (BALc) from nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)-infected subjects by studying the host transcriptome in during infection. A heatmap was created from the normalized expression of selected genes that showed statistically significant differential expression between NTM-infected and uninfected subjects. Genes with similar expression patterns were grouped and the most highly expressed genes are shown. One of the most differentially expressed gene in the NTM-infected group was the CFD (complement factor D) gene. Of note, a statistically significant three-fold increase in expression of the CAMP gene, encoding the LL-37 peptide was observed in the NTM-infected subject group (padj=0.05). Overall design: Bronchoalveolar lavage cell samples from 3 bronchiectatic patients with Mycobacterium intracellulare lung infection and 3 bronchiectatic patients without Mycobacterium intracellulare lung infection