[Differential expression of apoptosis-related gene induced by clinical and laboratory Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain in macrophages U937 revealed by oligonucleotide microarray].

Tuberculosis(TB) remains one of the major problems in global health. Macrophage (MPhi) apoptosis, induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is a cornerstone of effective innate microbial defense mechanism. Elucidation of the complex apoptosis-related gene expression may facilitate understanding the mechanism and regulation of macrophage apoptosis in response to Mtb, and contribute to developing novel measures to counter TB. DNA microarray containing 19,200 gene or gene fragments was used to compare the macrophage cell line U937 gene expression response to the clinical and laboratory Mtb infection. Northern blotting and RT-PCR were used to confirm the microarray results. Mtb H37Rv infection were found to downregulate the bcl-2, vitamin D receptor, interferon regulatory factor 3, cytochrome c oxidase, gene expression by 2-, 3-, 3-, 2.5-fold, respectively, while the clinical strain infection leads to upregulate the SOD2, SOD3, serine protease, toll-like receptor 2, signal transducer and activator (STAT1), hypoxia-inducible factor 22, 2.9-, 2.5-, 2.5-, 2.2-, 2.4-, 5.9-fold respectively. The findings suggest that the clinical strain infection tends to override the macrophage apoptosis by which the host attempt to limit the growth of the invader. The research on the complex factors network involved in the interaction will benefit the vaccine and novel drug target development.