MCP-1 Gene Mutation Associated with Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is a problem worldwide with one-third of the world’s population infected and 2 million people dying from this curable disease each year. Spread by coughing, sneezing, talking or spit, susceptibility to TB varies between individuals.
In a study of Mexican and Korean patients, researchers found that a single base-pair mutation aka point mutation in the MCP-1 gene on chromosome 17 is associated with an increase in the risk of developing TB. In infected individuals exhibiting symptoms, the level of MCP-1 protein was five times higher than those who were infected but remained asymptomatic. MCP-1 plays an initial role in attracting immune cells to combat TB, but high levels of the protein can inhibit interleukin-12, which is also needed in the immune response.
I’ve had my own brush with TB before. First, while conducting research on TB fingerprints as an undergraduate and later, when I unknowingly shared a flight with an active TB patient. Fortunately, I escaped infection both times but not without some worries.
If you think you’ll never come into contact with TB because of you don’t associate with drug addicts or recent immigrants, think again. TB has been around for thousands of years and isn’t so easy to get rid of.
EurekAlert, December 12, 2005
excellent post!! i’m a travel ER/RN, once i was at facility that didn’t give a shit bout tb but still isolated them,
and i was told from a nurse that worked in south america that she treated hundreds of TB patients there and never contracted TB. that it was “no big deal” to treat a TB patient. ……….i’ve took that message to heart and have freaked but no longer freak. lots of TB in soutern california………i’m not positive, my son isn’t positive. we are doing well with all of the positive tb i’ve encountered.
thanks for this post
i think early recognition is key!!@!!!!!!
Thanks, Jenni. I’m glad you and your son have never become infected with TB!
TB is my favourite disease, I’ve cared for people with it, and sadly nursed them through to their death. (One case she was only 35, but had the AIDS related strain, and wasn’t diagnosed until just weeks from the end) I have never worried about catching it, believing that it is an opportunistic disease preying on the weaker, malnourished and overcrowded poor. Also, I believed that being from a country that had emerged from the excesses of TB, the 19th and early 20th centuries seeing the worst of the ravages, that either we or the disease had evolved? I haven’t bothered with BCG for my children as I don’t think it’s very effective, lasting only a few years, and not having protected the people who I cared for. One girl had TB in her knee joint, supposedly from drinking infected milk?
Above all, victims of TB need to feel cared for, and all those masks and strict isolation can make a long and depressing illness infinitely worse, never seeing a smile…I would be sure to give a hug to make up for it!
Snowy: Thanks for sharing your experience. From your comment alone, it’s clear that you’re an exceptional nurse. *big hug* for you!