Researchers from CIC biomaGUNE / Ikerbasque and from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute belonging to CIBERES (Biomedical Research Networking Center of Respiratory Diseases) have discovered a new technique for the diagnosis of tuberculosis through the analysis of the metabolomic profile of a sample of urine. This is one of the advances that were presented in the framework of the XII CIBERES Scientific Conference, which was held on June 28 and 29 in Madrid, and in which almost a hundred researchers in the area of Respiratory Diseases participated.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease worldwide, which constitutes a serious public health problem. According to the WHO 10'4 million people developed the disease in the last year (1.4 million children) and 1.8 million died because of it.
The usual methods of diagnosing tuberculosis have shown to be insufficient for the control of the disease. The microscopic examination is not very sensitive, the cultures are slow and the molecular techniques, although they can generate fast results, are expensive, require trained personnel and are difficult to implement in many countries with high incidence. Therefore, "having a rapid, sensitive technique that uses a non-invasive sample is very useful for the diagnosis, management and control of tuberculosis", explains José Domínguez.
 

Specific metabolomic profile in patients with tuberculosis

The researchers have demonstrated the existence of a specific metabolomic profile in patients with tuberculosis, which can also be used during treatment to monitor its effectiveness.
"There has been a considerable increase in the number of tuberculosis cases that are multi-resistant and extremely-resistant to most antituberculous drugs, which makes it extremely difficult to control the disease," says Dr. Domínguez. "On the other hand, we lack adequate techniques to monitor treatment, so that, in case of incorrect treatment or poor compliance on the part of the patient, detecting the poor effectiveness of the treatment is not easy," he explains.
The researchers studied the urinary metabolome using a high-field nuclear magnetic resonance technique. "The results obtained show that there is a specific profile in patients with tuberculosis, significantly different from that found in healthy individuals, in patients with other respiratory infections and patients diagnosed with lung bronchial carcinoma," concludes the researcher.
The metabolome studies the set of metabolites that are generated during the metabolic and physiological activity of cells. The metabolites that are released can be modified in non-physiological situations, that is, in disease conditions. It has been described how the metabolome of cancer patients is different than that of healthy individuals. In this sense, the infectious processes can also constitute an alteration of the normal physiological balance and induce the modification of specific metabolomic profiles.