Whole blood transcriptional profiles of patients with active tuberculosis (TB) and other inflammatory and infectious diseases

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and efforts to control TB are hampered by difficulties with diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Most people infected with M. tuberculosis remain asymptomatic, termed latent TB, with a 10% lifetime risk of developing active TB disease, but current tests cannot identify which individuals will develop disease. The immune response to M. tuberculosis is complex and incompletely characterized, hindering development of new diagnostics, therapies and vaccines. The goals of this study include: 1. Identify a transcript signature for active TB in intermediate and high burden settings, correlating with radiological extent of disease and reverting to that of healthy controls following treatment; 2. Identify a specific transcript signature that discriminated active TB from other inflammatory and infectious diseases; 3. Classify TB signature using modular and pathway analysis tools.