Future of pharmacogenetics-based therapy for tuberculosis

Abstract

Personalized medicine uses technology to enable a level of personalization not previously practical. Currently, tuberculosis (TB) therapy is not personalized. Previous reports have shown that a genetic polymorphism of NAT2 is associated with large interindividual and inter-racial differences in the toxicity and efficacy of isoniazid. Herein, we show the safety and efficacy of a pharmacogenetics-based standard TB therapy and also provide a schematic presentation that proposed therapeutic approaches for latent TB infection (LTBI) using NAT2 genotyping. Our data show that the pharmacogenetics-based TB therapy is safer and more efficacious than the standard therapy. Therefore, the therapy using NAT2 genotyping proposed for LTBI herein will be safer and more efficacious than the standard LTBI therapy. Introduction of this therapy with NAT2 genotyping will be one of the cornerstones of personalized medicine.