Background: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is difficult to diagnose. We investigated whether a 3-gene host response signature in blood can distinguish TBM from other brain infections.
Methods: The expression of 3 genes (Dual specificity phosphatase 3- DUSP3, Guanylate-binding protein- GBP5, Krupple-like factor 2- KLF2) was analysed by RNA sequencing of archived whole blood from four cohorts of Vietnamese adults: 281 with TBM; 279 with pulmonary tuberculosis; 50 with other brain infections; and 30 healthy controls. 'TB scores' (combined 3-gene expression) were calculated following published methodology and discriminatory performance compared using area under a receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC).
Results: GBP5 was upregulated in TBM compared to other brain infections (p < 0.001), with no difference in DUSP3 and KLF2 expression. The diagnostic performance of GBP5 alone (AUC 0.74 (95% CI 0.67-0.81)) was slightly better than the 3-gene TB score (AUC 0.66, 95% CI 0.58-0.73) in TBM. Both GBP5 expression and TB score were higher in HIV-positive participants (P < 0.001), with good diagnostic performance of GBP5 alone (AUC 0.86, 95% CI 0.80-0.93).
Conclusion: The 3-gene host signature in whole blood has the ability to discriminate TBM from other brain infections, including in HIV-positive individuals. Validation in large prospective diagnostic study is now required.
Keywords: 3 gene host response; HIV co-infection; brain infections; diagnosis; tuberculous meningitis.
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.