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Analysis of Mycobacterium africanum in the last 17 years in Aragon identifies a specific location of IS6110 in Lineage 6. Sci Rep 2021; 11:10359. [PMID: 33990628 PMCID: PMC8121931 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89511-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to increase our knowledge about Mycobacterium africanum and report the incidence and characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) due to their lineages in Aragon, Spain, over the period 2003–2019. The study includes all the cases in our region, where all the M. tuberculosis complex isolates are systematically characterised. We detected 31 cases of M. africanum among 2598 cases of TB in the period studied. TB caused by M. africanum is rare (1.19%) in our population, and it affects mainly men of economically productive age coming from West African countries. Among the isolates, Lineage (L) 6 was more frequent than L5. The genotyping of these strains identified five clusters and 13 strains with a unique pattern. The isolates’ characterisation identified a copy of IS6110 within the moaX gene, which turned out to be specific for L6. It will allow the differentiation of this lineage from the rest of MTBC with a simple PCR reaction. It remains to be established whether this polymorphism may limit M. africanum transmission. Furthermore, a mutation in the mutT2 promoter was found as specific for L6 strains, which could be related to the high variability found for L6 compared to L5.
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van Loon W, Gomez MP, Jobe D, Franken KLMC, Ottenhoff THM, Coninx M, Kestens L, Sutherland JS, Kampmann B, Tientcheu LD. Use of resuscitation promoting factors to screen for tuberculosis infection in household-exposed children in The Gambia. BMC Infect Dis 2020; 20:469. [PMID: 32615981 PMCID: PMC7330976 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-05194-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interferon-γ release assays (IGRA) with Resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf) proteins enhanced tuberculosis (TB) screening and diagnosis in adults but have not been evaluated in children. Children often develop paucibacillary TB and their immune response differs from that of adults, which together affect TB disease diagnostics and immunodiagnostics. We assessed the ability of Rpf to identify infection among household TB-exposed children in The Gambia and investigated their ability to discriminate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) infection from active TB disease in children. METHODS Detailed clinical investigations were done on 93 household TB-exposed Gambian children and a tuberculin skin test (TST) was administered to asymptomatic children. Venous blood was collected for overnight stimulation with ESAT-6/CFP-10-fusion protein (EC), purified protein derivative and RpfA, B, C, D and E. Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production was measured by ELISA in supernatants and corrected for the background level. Infection status was defined by IGRA with EC and TB disease by mycobacterial confirmation and/or clinical diagnosis. We compared IFN-γ levels between infected and uninfected children and between infected and TB diseased children using a binomial logistic regression model while correcting for age and sex. A Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis was done to find the best cut-off for IFN-γ level and calculate sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS Interferon gamma production was significantly higher in infected (IGRA+, n = 45) than in uninfected (IGRA-, n = 20) children after stimulation with RpfA, B, C, and D (P = 0.03; 0.007; 0.03 and 0.003, respectively). Using RpfB and D-specific IFN-γ cut-offs (33.9 pg/mL and 67.0 pg/mL), infection was classified with a sensitivity-specificity combination of 73-92% and 77-72% respectively, which was similar to and better than 65-75% for TST. Moreover, IFN-γ production was higher in infected than in TB diseased children (n = 28, 5 bacteriologically confirmed, 23 clinically diagnosed), following RpfB and D stimulation (P = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively). CONCLUSION RpfB and RpfD show promising results for childhood MTBC infection screening, and both performed similar to and better than the TST in our study population. Additionally, both antigens appear to discriminate between infection and disease in children and thus warrant further investigation as screening and diagnostic antigens for childhood TB.
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Affiliation(s)
- W van Loon
- Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - M P Gomez
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - D Jobe
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - K L M C Franken
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - T H M Ottenhoff
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - M Coninx
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - L Kestens
- Immunology Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - J S Sutherland
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - B Kampmann
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia
- The Vaccine Centre, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - L D Tientcheu
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia.
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
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Kone B, Somboro AM, Holl JL, Baya B, Togo AACG, Sarro YDS, Diarra B, Kodio O, Murphy RL, Bishai W, Maiga M, Doumbia S. Exploring the usefulness of molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Africa: a systematic review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GENETICS 2020; 11:1-15. [PMID: 32714498 PMCID: PMC7373718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and remains a serious global public health threat, especially in resource-limited settings such as the African region. Recent developments in molecular epidemiology tools have significantly improved our understanding of TB transmission patterns and revealed the high genetic diversity of TB isolates across geographical entities in Africa. This study reports the results of a systematic review of current knowledge about MTBC strain diversity and geographical distribution in African regions. METHODS Search tools (PubMed, Embase, Popline, OVID and Africa Wide Information) were employed to identify the relevant literature about prevalence, strain diversity, and geographic distribution of MTBC infection in Africa. RESULTS A total of 59 articles from 739 citations met our inclusion criteria. Most articles reported about patients with presumptive pulmonary TB (73%), fewer reports were on retreatment and treatment failure cases (12%), and presumptive drug resistance cases (3%). Spoligotyping was the most used, alone in 21 studies and in parallel with either the Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units Variable Number of Tandem Repeats or the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. Various TB lineages were observed across the African continent, with the originally European lineage 4 spotted in all countries studied. CONCLUSION TB molecular epidemiology tools have substantially improved our understanding of the MTBC circulating isolates, their evolution, and diversity in this highly endemic region of Africa. We found that only TB lineage 4 is present throughout all the continent and the clusters identified provides an extended insight into the disease transmission dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bourahima Kone
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
| | - Anou M Somboro
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
- Medical Biochemistry, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-NatalDurban, South Africa
| | | | - Bocar Baya
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
| | - Antieme ACG Togo
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
| | - Yeya Dit Sadio Sarro
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
| | - Bassirou Diarra
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
| | - Ousmane Kodio
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
| | - Robert L Murphy
- Institute for Global Health, Northwestern UniversityChicago, Illinois, USA
| | - William Bishai
- Center for TB Research, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mamoudou Maiga
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
- Institute for Global Health, Northwestern UniversityChicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Seydou Doumbia
- University Clinical Research Center (UCRC)-SEREFO, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB)Bamako, Mali
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Zumla A, Otchere ID, Mensah GI, Asante-Poku A, Gehre F, Maeurer M, Bates M, Mwaba P, Ntoumi F, Yeboah-Manu D. Learning from epidemiological, clinical, and immunological studies on Mycobacterium africanum for improving current understanding of host–pathogen interactions, and for the development and evaluation of diagnostics, host-directed therapies, and vaccines for tuberculosis. Int J Infect Dis 2017; 56:126-129. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2016.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Sharma A, Bloss E, Heilig CM, Click ES. Tuberculosis Caused by Mycobacterium africanum, United States, 2004-2013. Emerg Infect Dis 2016; 22:396-403. [PMID: 26886258 PMCID: PMC4766873 DOI: 10.3201/eid2203.151505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium africanum is endemic to West Africa and causes tuberculosis (TB). We reviewed reported cases of TB in the United States during 2004-2013 that had lineage assigned by genotype (spoligotype and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit variable number tandem repeats). M. africanum caused 315 (0.4%) of 73,290 TB cases with lineage assigned by genotype. TB caused by M. africanum was associated more with persons from West Africa (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 253.8, 95% CI 59.9-1,076.1) and US-born black persons (aOR 5.7, 95% CI 1.2-25.9) than with US-born white persons. TB caused by M. africanum did not show differences in clinical characteristics when compared with TB caused by M. tuberculosis. Clustered cases defined as >2 cases in a county with identical 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit genotypes, were less likely for M. africanum (aOR 0.1, 95% CI 0.1-0.4), which suggests that M. africanum is not commonly transmitted in the United States.
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Homolka S, Ubben T, Niemann S. High Sequence Variability of the ppE18 Gene of Clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Strains Potentially Impacts Effectivity of Vaccine Candidate M72/AS01E. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0152200. [PMID: 27011018 PMCID: PMC4806982 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of an effective vaccine is urgently needed to fight tuberculosis (TB) which is still the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide. One of the promising vaccine candidates M72/AS01E consists of two proteins subunits PepA and PPE18 coded by Rv0125 and Rv1196. However, preliminary data indicate a high level of sequence variability among clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains that might have an impact on the vaccine efficacy. To further investigate this finding, we determined ppE18 sequence variability in a well-characterized reference collection of 71 MTBC strains from 23 phylogenetic lineages representing the global MTBC diversity. In total, 100 sequence variations consisting of 96 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), three insertions and one deletion were detected resulting in 141 variable positions distributed over the entire gene. The majority of SNPs detected were non-synonymous (n = 68 vs. n = 28 synonymous). Strains from animal adapted lineages, e.g., M. bovis, showed a significant higher diversity than the human pathogens such as M. tuberculosis Haarlem. SNP patterns specific for different lineages as well as for deeper branches in the phylogeny could be identified. The results of our study demonstrate a high variability of the ppE18 gene even in the N-terminal domains that is normally highly conserved in ppe genes. As the N-terminal region interacts with TLR2 receptor inducing a protective anti-inflammatory immune response, genetic heterogeneity has a potential impact on the vaccine efficiency, however, this has to be investigated in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Homolka
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
| | - Tanja Ubben
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
| | - Stefan Niemann
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Borstel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
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Mendy J, Togun T, Owolabi O, Donkor S, Ota MOC, Sutherland JS. C-reactive protein, Neopterin and Beta2 microglobulin levels pre and post TB treatment in The Gambia. BMC Infect Dis 2016; 16:115. [PMID: 26951717 PMCID: PMC4782376 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-016-1447-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Analysis of the host immune response may help with generating point-of-care tests for personalised monitoring. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between immune activation markers: C-reactive protein (CRP), Beta2 microglobulin (B2M) and Neopterin, disease severity prior to treatment and response to therapy in adult pulmonary TB patients. Methods HIV negative adult pulmonary TB index cases (n = 91) were recruited from the TB clinic at MRC, The Gambia. Plasma samples were collected at enrolment and at 2 and 6 months following TB treatment initiation. An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed for evaluation of CRP, B2M and Neopterin levels and correlated with clinical and microbiological parameters including strain of infection. Disease severity was determined using Chest X-ray (CXR), Body Mass Index (BMI) and sputum smear grade. Results Plasma levels of all three markers were highly elevated in patients at recruitment and declined significantly during TB therapy. No correlation with disease severity was seen at recruitment. CRP showed the most significant decrease by 2 months of treatment (p < 0.0001) whereas levels of B2M and Neopterin showed little change by 2 months but a significant decrease by 6 months of treatment (p = 0.0002 and p < 0.0001 respectively). At recruitment, B2M levels were significantly higher in subjects infected with Mycobacterium africanum (Maf) compared with those infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto (Mtb) (p = 0.0075). In addition, while CRP and Neopterin showed a highly significant decline post-treatment regardless of strain (p < 0.0001 for all), B2M showed differential decline depending on strain (p = 0.0153 for Mtb and p = 0.0048 for Maf) and levels were still significantly higher at 6 months in Maf compared to Mtb infected subjects (p = 0.0051). Conclusion Our findings suggest that activation markers, particularly CRP, may have a role in identifying good response to TB therapy regardless of the strain of infection and could be further developed as point-of-care tests. In addition, B2M levels may allow differentiation between Mtb and Maf-infected subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Mendy
- Vaccines & Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia.
| | - Toyin Togun
- Vaccines & Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia.
| | - Olumuyiwa Owolabi
- Vaccines & Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia.
| | - Simon Donkor
- Vaccines & Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia.
| | - Martin O C Ota
- Vaccines & Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia. .,Current address: World Health Organisation Regional Office, Brazzaville, Congo.
| | - Jayne S Sutherland
- Vaccines & Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia. .,MRC Unit, PO Box 273, Banjul, The Gambia.
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Gehre F, Kumar S, Kendall L, Ejo M, Secka O, Ofori-Anyinam B, Abatih E, Antonio M, Berkvens D, de Jong BC. A Mycobacterial Perspective on Tuberculosis in West Africa: Significant Geographical Variation of M. africanum and Other M. tuberculosis Complex Lineages. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004408. [PMID: 26964059 PMCID: PMC4786107 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Accepted: 01/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phylogenetically distinct Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages differ in their phenotypes and pathogenicity. Consequently, understanding mycobacterial population structures phylogeographically is essential for design, interpretation and generalizability of clinical trials. Comprehensive efforts are lacking to date to establish the West African mycobacterial population structure on a sub-continental scale, which has diagnostic implications and can inform the design of clinical TB trials. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We collated novel and published genotyping (spoligotyping) data and classified spoligotypes into mycobacterial lineages/families using TBLineage and Spotclust, followed by phylogeographic analyses using statistics (logistic regression) and lineage axis plot analysis in GenGIS, in which a phylogenetic tree constructed in MIRU-VNTRplus was analysed. Combining spoligotyping data from 16 previously published studies with novel data from The Gambia, we obtained a total of 3580 isolates from 12 countries and identified 6 lineages comprising 32 families. By using stringent analytical tools we demonstrate for the first time a significant phylogeographic separation between western and eastern West Africa not only of the two M. africanum (West Africa 1 and 2) but also of several major M. tuberculosis sensu stricto families, such as LAM10 and Haarlem 3. Moreover, in a longitudinal logistic regression analysis for grouped data we showed that M. africanum West Africa 2 remains a persistent health concern. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Because of the geographical divide of the mycobacterial populations in West Africa, individual research findings from one country cannot be generalized across the whole region. The unequal geographical family distribution should be considered in placement and design of future clinical trials in West Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Gehre
- Mycobacterial Unit, Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Samrat Kumar
- Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Lindsay Kendall
- Statistics and Bioinformatics Department, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Mebrat Ejo
- Mycobacterial Unit, Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
- University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
| | - Oumie Secka
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Boatema Ofori-Anyinam
- Mycobacterial Unit, Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Emmanuel Abatih
- Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Martin Antonio
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Dirk Berkvens
- Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Bouke C. de Jong
- Mycobacterial Unit, Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
- Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, New York University (NYU), New York, New York, United States of America
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Bojang AL, Mendy FS, Tientcheu LD, Otu J, Antonio M, Kampmann B, Agbla S, Sutherland JS. Comparison of TB-LAMP, GeneXpert MTB/RIF and culture for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in The Gambia. J Infect 2016; 72:332-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2015.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2015] [Revised: 11/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Winglee K, Manson McGuire A, Maiga M, Abeel T, Shea T, Desjardins CA, Diarra B, Baya B, Sanogo M, Diallo S, Earl AM, Bishai WR. Whole Genome Sequencing of Mycobacterium africanum Strains from Mali Provides Insights into the Mechanisms of Geographic Restriction. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004332. [PMID: 26751217 PMCID: PMC4713829 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Accepted: 12/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mycobacterium africanum, made up of lineages 5 and 6 within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC), causes up to half of all tuberculosis cases in West Africa, but is rarely found outside of this region. The reasons for this geographical restriction remain unknown. Possible reasons include a geographically restricted animal reservoir, a unique preference for hosts of West African ethnicity, and an inability to compete with other lineages outside of West Africa. These latter two hypotheses could be caused by loss of fitness or altered interactions with the host immune system. Methodology/Principal Findings We sequenced 92 MTC clinical isolates from Mali, including two lineage 5 and 24 lineage 6 strains. Our genome sequencing assembly, alignment, phylogeny and average nucleotide identity analyses enabled us to identify features that typify lineages 5 and 6 and made clear that these lineages do not constitute a distinct species within the MTC. We found that in Mali, lineage 6 and lineage 4 strains have similar levels of diversity and evolve drug resistance through similar mechanisms. In the process, we identified a putative novel streptomycin resistance mutation. In addition, we found evidence of person-to-person transmission of lineage 6 isolates and showed that lineage 6 is not enriched for mutations in virulence-associated genes. Conclusions This is the largest collection of lineage 5 and 6 whole genome sequences to date, and our assembly and alignment data provide valuable insights into what distinguishes these lineages from other MTC lineages. Lineages 5 and 6 do not appear to be geographically restricted due to an inability to transmit between West African hosts or to an elevated number of mutations in virulence-associated genes. However, lineage-specific mutations, such as mutations in cell wall structure, secretion systems and cofactor biosynthesis, provide alternative mechanisms that may lead to host specificity. Mycobacterium africanum consists of two lineages, lineages 5 and 6, within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) that cause human tuberculosis in West Africa, but are found rarely outside of this region. Our analysis of the whole genome sequences of 26 lineage 5 and 6 isolates, and 66 isolates from other lineages within the MTC, reveal that M. africanum does not meet modern criteria to be considered an independent species. We analyzed drug resistance-associated genes and found that drug resistance evolves within these lineages through similar mechanisms as observed for the rest of the MTC in Mali. Though we did not see an elevated number of mutations in virulence-associated genes in these two lineages, we identified a number of lineage-specific mutations, pseudogenes and changes in gene content that may impact virulence and host specificity, and improve, overall, our understanding of what make these lineages unique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Winglee
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Abigail Manson McGuire
- Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Mamoudou Maiga
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Project SEREFO (Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur le VIH/Sida et la Tuberculose)/University of Sciences, Technics and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali
| | - Thomas Abeel
- Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Terrance Shea
- Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Christopher A. Desjardins
- Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Bassirou Diarra
- Project SEREFO (Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur le VIH/Sida et la Tuberculose)/University of Sciences, Technics and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali
| | - Bocar Baya
- Project SEREFO (Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur le VIH/Sida et la Tuberculose)/University of Sciences, Technics and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali
| | - Moumine Sanogo
- Project SEREFO (Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur le VIH/Sida et la Tuberculose)/University of Sciences, Technics and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali
| | - Souleymane Diallo
- Project SEREFO (Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur le VIH/Sida et la Tuberculose)/University of Sciences, Technics and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali
| | - Ashlee M. Earl
- Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AME); (WRB)
| | - William R. Bishai
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AME); (WRB)
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Gehre F, Ejo M, Fissette K, de Rijk P, Uwizeye C, Nduwamahoro E, Goovaerts O, Affolabi D, Gninafon M, Lingoupou FM, Barry MD, Sow O, Merle C, Olliaro P, Ba F, Sarr M, Piubello A, Noeske J, Antonio M, Rigouts L, de Jong BC. Shifts in Mycobacterial Populations and Emerging Drug-Resistance in West and Central Africa. PLoS One 2014; 9:e110393. [PMID: 25493429 PMCID: PMC4262193 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we retrospectively analysed a total of 605 clinical isolates from six West or Central African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Guinea-Conakry, Niger and Senegal). Besides spoligotyping to assign isolates to ancient and modern mycobacterial lineages, we conducted phenotypic drug-susceptibility-testing for each isolate for the four first-line drugs. We showed that phylogenetically modern Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains are more likely associated with drug resistance than ancient strains and predict that the currently ongoing replacement of the endemic ancient by a modern mycobacterial population in West/Central Africa might result in increased drug resistance in the sub-region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Gehre
- Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium
- Medical Research Council (MRC), The Gambia Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
- * E-mail:
| | - Mebrat Ejo
- Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Pim de Rijk
- Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Fanny M. Lingoupou
- Laboratoire des Mycobactéries, Institut Pasteur de Bangui, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | | | - Oumou Sow
- Laboratoire de Reference des Mycobactéries, Conakry, Guinea-Conakry
| | - Corinne Merle
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Piero Olliaro
- UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Fatoumata Ba
- Laboratoire de Reference des Mycobactéries, Dakar, Senegal
| | | | | | | | - Martin Antonio
- Medical Research Council (MRC), The Gambia Unit, Fajara, The Gambia
| | - Leen Rigouts
- Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Bouke C de Jong
- Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium
- New York University, New York, United States of America
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