Published online Dec 7, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i45.6003
Revised: September 3, 2007
Accepted: October 25, 2007
Published online: December 7, 2007
AIM: To investigate an association between N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2)-haplotypes/diplotypes and adverse effects in Japanese pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
METHODS: We studied 100 patients with pulmonary TB treated with anti-TB drugs including INH. The frequencies and distributions of single nucleotide polymorphisms, haplotypes, and diplotypes of NAT2 were determined by the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method, and the results were compared between TB patients with and without adverse effect, using multivariate logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed that the frequency of a variant haplotype, NAT2*6A, was significantly increased in TB patients with hepatotoxicity, compared with those without hepatotoxicity [P = 0.001, odds ratio (OR) = 3.535]. By contrast, the frequency of a wild-type (major) haplotype, "NAT2*4", was significantly lower in TB patients with hepatotoxicity than those without hepatotoxicity (P < 0.001, OR = 0.265). There was no association between NAT2-haplotypes and skin rash or eosinophilia.
CONCLUSION: The present study shows that NAT2 is one of the determinants of anti-TB drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Moreover, the haplotypes, NAT2*4 and NAT2*6A, are useful new biomarkers for predicting anti-TB drug-induced hepatotoxicity.