Pathogen Class-specific Transcriptional Responses Derived from PBMCs Accurately Discriminate Between Fungal, Bacterial, and Viral Infections [ValidationCohort]

Host gene expression responses can be used to determine the etiology of acute infection. PBMCs were stimulated with bacterial, viral, and fungal stimuli and then analyzed for differential gene expression utilizing microarrays to derive pathogen class-specific gene expression classifiers of infection. Validation Cohort: peripheral blood samples of human patients with acute viral, bacterial, or fungal infections In vitro human PBMC challenges were performed with bacteria (gram positive and gram negative), viruses (4 strains of influenza), and fungi (Cryptococcus and Candida). Exposed human cells were then analyzed for differential gene expression utilizing Affymetrix microarrays to derive pathogen class-specific gene expression classifiers. PBMC-derived signatures for each pathogen were applied to a dataset from peripheral blood samples of human patients with acute infection due to the same broad pathogen classes.