Compilation of the mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing-b0 lineage sample and identifying predictors of immune dysfunction in source patients

Abstract

Evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have lead to the development of a number of lineages that have unique phenotypes and genotypes and are associated with certain geographical regions. Thus, compared to the reference strains of M. tuberculosis, Beijing and LAM genotypic lineages, which are the most common in the world, are highly virulent and transmissible. However, the extensive use of antibiotics over the past 50 years has caused the next evolutionary leap, which yielded new, epidemiologically dangerous sublineages: Beijing-B0 in Russia, Beijing-modern-4 in China and KZN in South Africa. This study aimed at investigating the effect the immune dysfunction predictors registered in patients have on the severity of tuberculosis (TB) developing after contracting M. tuberculosis Beijing-B0. We compiled a sample of patients with newly diagnosed TB caused by M. tuberculosis Beijing-B0, searched for the immune-suppressing diseases/conditions in their medical history and developed their immunograms. No connection was found between the state of the immune system and the characteristics of the disease we considered.