Gene expression analysis of PBMC from HIV and HIV/TB co-infected patients

Diagnosis of TB, especially in the presence of an HIV co-infection, can be challenging when using conventional diagnostic methods. In this study, we analyzed global gene expression data from PBMC of patients that were either mono-infected with HIV or co-infected with HIV and TB in order to identify a TB-specific gene signature. Total RNA obtained from PBMC from a South African cohort. Microarry analysis was performed to compare gene expression in patients either infected with HIV or co-infected with HIV/TB.

采用常规诊断方法开展结核病（Tuberculosis, TB）诊断时颇具挑战，尤其当患者合并人类免疫缺陷病毒（Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV）感染时。本研究旨在挖掘结核病特异性基因特征，为此分析了两类患者的外周血单个核细胞（Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell, PBMC）的全基因表达数据：一类为单纯感染HIV的患者，另一类为HIV与结核病合并感染的患者。本研究使用的总RNA取自南非队列患者的外周血单个核细胞。研究通过基因芯片（Microarray）分析，对比了单纯感染HIV患者与HIV/TB合并感染患者的基因表达差异。