Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Induced Hepatotoxicity Among TB/HIV Co-Infected Patients at Jimma University Hospital, Ethiopia: Nested Case-Control Study.

Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Induced Hepatotoxicity among TB/HIV Co-Infected Patients at Jimma University Hospital, Ethiopia: Nested Case-Control Study.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(5): e64622
Hassen Ali A, Belachew T, Yami A, Ayen WY

This study was carried out to determine the incidence and predictors of anti-tuberculosis drug induced hepatotoxicity among TB/HIV co-infected patients at Jimma University Hospital, Ethiopia. METHODSPRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A nested case-control study was conducted by reviewing charts of all TB/HIV co-infected patients who commenced anti-TB treatment from January 2008 to December 2011 at Jimma University Hospital. Patients who had developed hepatotoxicity after at least 5 days of standard doses of anti-TB drug therapy were labeled as “cases” and those without hepatotoxicity were “controls”. Each case with anti-TB drug induced hepatotoxicity was compared with 3 controls selected randomly from the cohort. From a cohort of 296 TB/HIV co-infected patients 8 were excluded from the study as the causality between anti-TB drugs and hepatotoxicity was not confirmed, 33 had developed hepatotoxicity. On bivariate logistic regression analysis, body mass index (BMI) <18.5 Kg/m(2) [P?=?0.01; OR (95%CI): 3.6 (1.4-9.5)], disseminated pulmonary TB [P?=?0.00; OR (95%CI): 5.6 (2.2-14.6)], CD4 count ?50 [P?=?0.016; OR (95%CI): 3.6(1.27-10.23)] and WHO stage 4 [P?=?0.004, OR (95%CI): 3.8 (1.68-8.77)] were significantly associated with anti-TB drug induced hepatotoxicity. Predictor variables with p-value <0.05 by bivariate analysis were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis and identified disseminated pulmonary TB [P?=?0.001; AOR (95%CI) ?=?5.6 (2.1-15.0)] and BMI <18.5 [P?=?0.014; AOR (95%CI) ?=?3.6 (1.3-10.1)] as independent predictors of anti-TB drug induced hepatotoxicity.The incidence of anti-TB drug induced hepatotoxicity was 11.5%. The results suggest that in the presence of disseminated pulmonary TB and/or BMI <18.5 Kg/m(2), TB/HIV co-infected patients should be closely followed for the occurrence of hepatotoxicity during the intensive phase of TB treatment to prevent morbidity and mortality. HubMed – drug

 

Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of 50 Catfish ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter Genes.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(5): e63895
Liu S, Li Q, Liu Z

Although a large set of full-length transcripts was recently assembled in catfish, annotation of large gene families, especially those with duplications, is still a great challenge. Most often, complexities in annotation cause mis-identification and thereby much confusion in the scientific literature. As such, detailed phylogenetic analysis and/or orthology analysis are required for annotation of genes involved in gene families. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter gene superfamily is a large gene family that encodes membrane proteins that transport a diverse set of substrates across membranes, playing important roles in protecting organisms from diverse environment. METHODOLOGYPRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this work, we identified a set of 50 ABC transporters in catfish genome. Phylogenetic analysis allowed their identification and annotation into seven subfamilies, including 9 ABCA genes, 12 ABCB genes, 12 ABCC genes, 5 ABCD genes, 2 ABCE genes, 4 ABCF genes and 6 ABCG genes. Most ABC transporters are conserved among vertebrates, though cases of recent gene duplications and gene losses do exist. Gene duplications in catfish were found for ABCA1, ABCB3, ABCB6, ABCC5, ABCD3, ABCE1, ABCF2 and ABCG2. CONCLUSIONSIGNIFICANCE: The whole set of catfish ABC transporters provide the essential genomic resources for future biochemical, toxicological and physiological studies of ABC drug efflux transporters. The establishment of orthologies should allow functional inferences with the information from model species, though the function of lineage-specific genes can be distinct because of specific living environment with different selection pressure. HubMed – drug

 

Human Genetics in Rheumatoid Arthritis Guides a High-Throughput Drug Screen of the CD40 Signaling Pathway.

PLoS Genet. 2013 May; 9(5): e1003487
Li G, Diogo D, Wu D, Spoonamore J, Dancik V, Franke L, Kurreeman F, Rossin EJ, Duclos G, Hartland C, Zhou X, Li K, Liu J, De Jager PL, Siminovitch KA, Zhernakova A, Raychaudhuri S, Bowes J, Eyre S, Padyukov L, Gregersen PK, Worthington J, , Gupta N, Clemons PA, Stahl E, Tolliday N, Plenge RM

Although genetic and non-genetic studies in mouse and human implicate the CD40 pathway in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there are no approved drugs that inhibit CD40 signaling for clinical care in RA or any other disease. Here, we sought to understand the biological consequences of a CD40 risk variant in RA discovered by a previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) and to perform a high-throughput drug screen for modulators of CD40 signaling based on human genetic findings. First, we fine-map the CD40 risk locus in 7,222 seropositive RA patients and 15,870 controls, together with deep sequencing of CD40 coding exons in 500 RA cases and 650 controls, to identify a single SNP that explains the entire signal of association (rs4810485, P?=?1.4×10(-9)). Second, we demonstrate that subjects homozygous for the RA risk allele have ?33% more CD40 on the surface of primary human CD19+ B lymphocytes than subjects homozygous for the non-risk allele (P?=?10(-9)), a finding corroborated by expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 1,469 healthy control individuals. Third, we use retroviral shRNA infection to perturb the amount of CD40 on the surface of a human B lymphocyte cell line (BL2) and observe a direct correlation between amount of CD40 protein and phosphorylation of RelA (p65), a subunit of the NF-?B transcription factor. Finally, we develop a high-throughput NF-?B luciferase reporter assay in BL2 cells activated with trimerized CD40 ligand (tCD40L) and conduct an HTS of 1,982 chemical compounds and FDA-approved drugs. After a series of counter-screens and testing in primary human CD19+ B cells, we identify 2 novel chemical inhibitors not previously implicated in inflammation or CD40-mediated NF-?B signaling. Our study demonstrates proof-of-concept that human genetics can be used to guide the development of phenotype-based, high-throughput small-molecule screens to identify potential novel therapies in complex traits such as RA. HubMed – drug