Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype strains is associated with polymorphisms in SLC11A1/NRAMP1 in Indonesian patients with tuberculosis.

Differences in host immune genes may predispose to tuberculosis caused by particular Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotypes. We examined this hypothesis in Indonesia by spoligotyping M. tuberculosis isolates recovered from 336 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and typing the patients' SLC11A1 gene (formerly known as "NRAMP1"), which is involved in susceptibility to tuberculosis. The M. tuberculosis Beijing genotype, which comprised 29.8% of all isolates, was strongly associated with 2 polymorphisms in SLC11A1: the D543N G allele (odds ratio [OR], 2.15; P=.005) and the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) insertion/insertion genotype (OR, 2.5; P=.001). This finding supports the hypothesis of coevolution of M. tuberculosis and the human immune system.