You couldn't pay me enough to be in a study like this. The study had no conclusive results, but the scientists believe it could help improve predictions for which patients may have a strong reaction to E. coli bacteria. Really? I think what would be more helpful would be to know how much money was spent on this study and where the funding came from.
01/25/2016
Ryan Bushey, Associate Editor
http://www.dddmag.com/news/2016/01/certain-genes-could-indicate-infection-resistance-suggests-study?cmpid=horizontalcontent
Scientists from Duke University conducted a study to see how individuals' DNA might impact their probability of contracting a common bacterial infection from E. coli bacteria.
The researchers administered the bacterium to 30 volunteers, according to the study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. E. coli can cause diarrhea, but six participants displayed no symptoms, while another six succumbed to the infection over a period of eight days.
Next, the team took blood samples from all participants to identify certain forms of gene expression. A comparison was done between patients with severe symptoms to patients with minimal symptoms. The analysis showed there were substantial alterations in 29 genes related to immune function.
These specific genes may have been activated with the bacterium’s presence, but it was unclear if that was the reason for the strong immune response or if it was due to mutations in the genes of patients with few symptoms, reports Popular Science.
Still, the scientists believe this could improve predictions for which patients may have a strong reaction to E. coli bacteria.
You can read the rest of the research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/12/09/infdis.jiv593?
Abstract
Background. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a globally prevalent cause of diarrhea. Though usually self-limited, it can be severe and debilitating. Little is known about the host transcriptional response to infection. We report the first gene expression analysis of the human host response to experimental challenge with ETEC.
Methods. We challenged 30 healthy adults with an unattenuated ETEC strain, and collected serial blood samples shortly after inoculation and daily for 8 days. We performed gene expression analysis on whole peripheral blood RNA samples from subjects in whom severe symptoms developed (n = 6) and a subset of those who remained asymptomatic (n = 6) despite shedding.
Results. Compared with baseline, symptomatic subjects demonstrated significantly different expression of 406 genes highlighting increased immune response and decreased protein synthesis. Compared with asymptomatic subjects, symptomatic subjects differentially expressed 254 genes primarily associated with immune response. This comparison also revealed 29 genes differentially expressed between groups at baseline, suggesting innate resilience to infection. Drug repositioning analysis identified several drug classes with potential utility in augmenting immune response or mitigating symptoms.
Conclusions. There are statistically significant and biologically plausible differences in host gene expression induced by ETEC infection. Differential baseline expression of some genes may indicate resilience to infection.
01/25/2016
Ryan Bushey, Associate Editor
http://www.dddmag.com/news/2016/01/certain-genes-could-indicate-infection-resistance-suggests-study?cmpid=horizontalcontent
Scientists from Duke University conducted a study to see how individuals' DNA might impact their probability of contracting a common bacterial infection from E. coli bacteria.
The researchers administered the bacterium to 30 volunteers, according to the study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. E. coli can cause diarrhea, but six participants displayed no symptoms, while another six succumbed to the infection over a period of eight days.
Next, the team took blood samples from all participants to identify certain forms of gene expression. A comparison was done between patients with severe symptoms to patients with minimal symptoms. The analysis showed there were substantial alterations in 29 genes related to immune function.
These specific genes may have been activated with the bacterium’s presence, but it was unclear if that was the reason for the strong immune response or if it was due to mutations in the genes of patients with few symptoms, reports Popular Science.
Still, the scientists believe this could improve predictions for which patients may have a strong reaction to E. coli bacteria.
You can read the rest of the research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/12/09/infdis.jiv593?
Abstract
Background. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a globally prevalent cause of diarrhea. Though usually self-limited, it can be severe and debilitating. Little is known about the host transcriptional response to infection. We report the first gene expression analysis of the human host response to experimental challenge with ETEC.
Methods. We challenged 30 healthy adults with an unattenuated ETEC strain, and collected serial blood samples shortly after inoculation and daily for 8 days. We performed gene expression analysis on whole peripheral blood RNA samples from subjects in whom severe symptoms developed (n = 6) and a subset of those who remained asymptomatic (n = 6) despite shedding.
Results. Compared with baseline, symptomatic subjects demonstrated significantly different expression of 406 genes highlighting increased immune response and decreased protein synthesis. Compared with asymptomatic subjects, symptomatic subjects differentially expressed 254 genes primarily associated with immune response. This comparison also revealed 29 genes differentially expressed between groups at baseline, suggesting innate resilience to infection. Drug repositioning analysis identified several drug classes with potential utility in augmenting immune response or mitigating symptoms.
Conclusions. There are statistically significant and biologically plausible differences in host gene expression induced by ETEC infection. Differential baseline expression of some genes may indicate resilience to infection.