Genetic association studies in host–pathogen interaction analysis

Abstract

Studying host–pathogen interactions at a molecular level has been always technically challenging. Identifying the different biochemical and genetic pathways involved in the different stages of infection traditionally require complex molecular biology tools and often the use of costly animal models. In this chapter we illustrate a complementary approach to address host–pathogen interactions, taking advantage of the natural interindividual genetic diversity. The application of genetic association studies allows us to identify alleles involved in infection progression or resistance. Thus, this strategy may be useful to unravel new molecular pathways underlying host–pathogen interactions. Here we present the general steps that might be followed to plan, execute, and analyze a population-based study in order to identify genetic variants affecting human exposition to pathogens.