DERIVING TRANSCRIPTOMIC BIO-MARKERS FROM CELLS EXTRACTED FROM THE BLOOD OF HUMAN TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). Known for its ability to cause pulmonary (and other organ-based and multisystem) destruction, this contagion has been causing great mortality and morbidity among global populations for thousands of years (Barberis et al., 2017). In fact, 25% of the global population (approximately two billion people) is infected with M.tb, with over 10 million falling ill with active TB (referring to when M.tb causes infection) annually (World Health Organization, 2022). Being one of the oldest illnesses in the history of mankind, TB has yet to be eradicated despite decades of intercontinental efforts by researchers (Barberis et al., 2017; World Health Organization, 2022). To further efforts in eradicating TB, researchers have been relying on transcriptomic research to identify bio-markers and gene signatures that can accurately identify patients diagnosed with active TB, as current TB diagnostics are lacking. This research identifies a neutrophilic bio-marker consisting of five genes. This signature was used to develop a classification system predicting active TB with nearly 80% accuracy. If proven useful and generalizable in a clinical setting, diagnostic assessments of TB can be potentially improved.