Progress and New Directions in Genetics of Tuberculosis: An NHLBI Working Group Report

Tuberculosis (TB), along with AIDS and malaria, is one of the three major killers among infectious diseases. New approaches to preventing, diagnosing, and curing TB are needed, which depend on a better understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the host. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a working group to develop recommendations for future TB research, including genetic aspects of the disease. The following areas were identified: (1) animal model research to improve understanding of persistence, reactivation, and granulomatous reactions; (2) preclinical studies aimed at shortening treatment of TB; (3) new resources for manipulating and characterizing the M. tuberculosis genome, proteome chips for more specific diagnoses, and studies of genes that appear to be essential but whose functions are not known; (4) prospective studies associated with clinical trials in populations with or at risk of TB to advance development of diagnostics and prognostics; (5) new quantitative and bioin...