Gene expression patterns in blood leukocytes discriminate patients with acute infections.
Each infectious agent represents a unique combination of pathogen-associated molecular patterns that interact with specific pattern-recognition receptors expressed on immune cells. Therefore, we surmised that the blood immune cells of individuals with different infections might bear discriminative transcriptional signatures. Gene expression profiles were obtained for 131 peripheral blood samples from pediatric patients with acute infections caused by influenza A virus, Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) or Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) bacteria. Thirty-five genes were identified that best discriminate patients with influenza A virus infection from patients with either E coli or S pneumoniae infection. These genes classified with 95% accuracy (35 of 37 samples) an independent set of patients with either influenza A, E coli, or S pneumoniae infection. A different signature discriminated patients with E coli versus S aureus infections with 85% accuracy (34 of 40). Furthermore, distinctive gene expression patterns were observed in patients presenting with respiratory infections of different etiologies. Thus, microarray analyses of patient peripheral blood leukocytes might assist in the differential diagnosis of infectious diseases.
Ramilo
Octavio
O
Baylor National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases (NIAID) Cooperative Center for Translational Research on Human Immunology and Biodefense and Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas, TX 75204, USA. octavio.ramilo@utsouthwestern.edu
Allman
Windy
W
Chung
Wendy
W
Mejias
Asuncion
A
Ardura
Monica
M
Glaser
Casey
C
Wittkowski
Knut M
KM
Piqueras
Bernard
B
Banchereau
Jacques
J
Palucka
A Karolina
AK
Chaussabel
Damien
D
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002469:Cell Separation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics