Response to Bacterial Infection Is Associated With Inflammatory Disease

A simple laboratory assay detected a genetic variation in the host response to bacterial infection that is associated with an increased susceptibility for inflammatory disease.

The ability to ward off infections appears to be associated with an increased risk for developing inflammatory diseases. A gene called CARD8 was found to be related to the severity of rheumatoid arthritis. Loss of CARD8 was associated with an increased risk of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, a physiologic state of hyperinflammation that has many different causes.

A team at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA) used a novel screen of bacterial infection to identify human variation in Salmonella-induced cell death. The study was published online on August 6, 2009, in the American Journal of Human Genetics (AJHG).

Dr. Samuel Miller, senior study author, explained that the results demonstrated the utility of genome-wide cell-based association screens using microbes for identifying naturally selected variants that can impact human health. He said, "Further, our work provides proof-of-principle that screens for genetic variation associated with infection in humans could be developed to serve as functional tests of susceptibility and outcomes for acute and chronic inflammatory disease."

Related Links:
University of Washington
American Journal of Human Genetics