Identification of Early Response Genes in Human Peripheral Leukocytes Infected with Orientia tsutsugamushi: The Emergent of a Unique Gene Expression Profile for Diagnosis of O. tsutsugamush Infection

摘要

Scrub typhus, caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi, is one of the most common rickettsial diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. The disease can cause up to 35% mortality if left untreated. In order to get a better understanding of the host responses to O. tsutsugamushi infection, freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were infected with O. tsutsugamushi. The infected cells were collected at 1 h, 4 h, 8 h or 18 h post infection. The gene expression profiles were monitored by cDNA microarray. Among the 7,489 genes, 658 genes were up or down regulated by 2-fold upon infection. ANOVA t-test revealed 432 genes with statistically significant fold change.