New Biomarkers of Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Infectious Diseases

摘要

Despite dramatic achievements in the field of infectious disease control and prevention in economically developed countries, infectious diseases still remain the leading cause of morbidity, disability, and mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 million fatalities were attributed to infectious diseases in 2010. It is extremely alarming that the WHO predicts 13 million infectious disease-related deaths for 2050 [1]. In particular, emerging infectious diseases are on the rise, which can be explained by many factors like microbial adaptation to new hosts, selective pressures of the treatment, migration of the natural hosts, and so on. Emerging infectious diseases often have deadly consequences which may threaten the existence of humanity. Although much has been learnt about the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, reliable early diagnosis and effective treatment for many of these diseases are still not available. These limitations could be explained by our limited knowledge of the molecular host-pathogen interactions and immune response to many particular infections, which hampers the discovery of the early diagnostic biomarkers.Recent advances in molecular biology and immunology resulted in a rapid expansion in the field of immune biomarkers. These biomarkers can help make an early diagnosis, evaluate the efficacy of treatment, and improve or predict the disease outcome. The increase of emerging infections and spread of the antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains make the search for biomarkers especially urgent. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration addressed the need for Immune Biomarkers regarding development and approval of the new diagnostics as essential for improving the treatment of infectious diseases. The ongoing search for biomarkers is wide and includes correlation analysis between clinical presentation and genetic mutations, cytokines, receptors, growth factors, and so on found in the host or the infectious agent. Despite extensive research, the need for novel biomarkers remains critical. For example, not much is known about immune biomarkers for such emerging/reemerging infections as Zika virus-caused disease and Ebola hemorrhagic fever. There is also ongoing search for biomarkers of the immune dysfunction in HIV and severe dengue disease. Novel biomarkers for cytomegalovirus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis provide useful information on the human host response to the corresponding infections.