HIV coinfection is associated with low-fitness rpoB variants in rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Loiseau, Chloé; Brites, Daniela; Reinhard, Miriam; Zürcher, Kathrin; Borrell, Sonia; Ballif, Marie; Fenner, Lukas; Cox, Helen; Rutaihwa, Liliana K; Wilkinson, Robert J; Yotebieng, Marcel; Carter, E Jane; Abimiku, Alash'le; Marcy, Olivier; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Avihingsanon, Anchalee; Zetola, Nicola; Doulla, Basra; Böttger, Erik C; Egger, Matthias; Gagneux, Sebastien

HIV coinfection is associated with low-fitness rpoB variants in rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

journal contribution

posted on 2020-10-09, 10:04 authored by Chloé Loiseau, Daniela Brites, Miriam Reinhard, Kathrin Zürcher, Sonia Borrell, Marie Ballif, Lukas Fenner, Helen Cox, Liliana K Rutaihwa, Robert J Wilkinson, Marcel Yotebieng, E Jane Carter, Alash'le Abimiku, Olivier Marcy, Eduardo Gotuzzo, Anchalee Avihingsanon, Nicola Zetola, Basra Doulla, Erik C Böttger, Matthias Egger, Sebastien Gagneux

We analysed 312 drug-resistant genomes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) collected from HIV coinfected and HIV negative TB patients from nine countries with a high tuberculosis burden. We found that rifampicin-resistant Mtb strains isolated from HIV coinfected patients carried disproportionally more resistance-conferring mutations in rpoB that are associated with a low fitness in the absence of the drug, suggesting these low fitness rpoB variants can thrive in the context of reduced host immunity.