Objectives: To study whether NRAMP1 gene polymorphisms in a Japanese population affect susceptibility to tuberculosis and clinical features of tuberculosis.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment-length polymorphism analyses were used to type NRAMP1 polymorphisms in 95 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 90 controls. Clinical features of patients also were investigated.
Results: No association was seen between susceptibility to tuberculosis and NRAMP1 polymorphisms. Patients with the D543N A allele were significantly more likely than others to develop a cavitary lesion; by logistic regression analysis with adjustment for gender, age, and presence of diabetes, the odds ratio in patients with an A allele was 5.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.30-20.45).
Conclusions: Genetic variation in the human NRAMP1 gene may be associated with cavitation in patients with tuberculosis.