Humans have been afflicted with tuberculosis (TB) and
malaria since antiquity. Although largely eradicated
from the developed nations of Europe and North
America, these diseases have remained a constant
threat in the developing world, especially Asia and
Africa. TB and malaria are multifactorial infectious
diseases which have been shown to have a strong
genetic component through twin studies, genome-wide
linkage studies and candidate gene association
studies. This book reports research on candidate
genes for TB and malaria in West Africa; focussing
particularly on candidate genes involved in pathogen
pattern recognition receptor pathways. A few of
these genes (TIRAP, IFIH1) that appear to be
associated with TB have been identified. There was no
evidence for association of TLR9, TICAM2, IRF3, IRF5,
IRF7 and MCP1 with TB, nor PKLR and BTLA with
malaria. These findings add to our understanding of
the multigenic basis of variable resistance to these
diseases and provide further evidence for the
importance of innate immunity genes in affecting
susceptibility.
malaria since antiquity. Although largely eradicated
from the developed nations of Europe and North
America, these diseases have remained a constant
threat in the developing world, especially Asia and
Africa. TB and malaria are multifactorial infectious
diseases which have been shown to have a strong
genetic component through twin studies, genome-wide
linkage studies and candidate gene association
studies. This book reports research on candidate
genes for TB and malaria in West Africa; focussing
particularly on candidate genes involved in pathogen
pattern recognition receptor pathways. A few of
these genes (TIRAP, IFIH1) that appear to be
associated with TB have been identified. There was no
evidence for association of TLR9, TICAM2, IRF3, IRF5,
IRF7 and MCP1 with TB, nor PKLR and BTLA with
malaria. These findings add to our understanding of
the multigenic basis of variable resistance to these
diseases and provide further evidence for the
importance of innate immunity genes in affecting
susceptibility.