According to the article, penicillin is frequently used as a first-line antibiotic since it is efficient against a wide range of bacterial illnesses. Penicillins are a class of antibiotics that work against a wide array of bacteria. Despite this, it is one of the leading causes of drug allergies. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 10% of individuals have had an adverse response to penicillin. Researchers now have identified a genetic component to hypersensitivity, which may produce hives, wheezing, arrhythmias, and other symptoms, although it is seldom deadly. Penicillin hypersensitivity may be triggered by a genetic change in an immune system gene that aids the body in differentiating between our own cells and pathogenic microorganisms and viruses. According to Kristi Krebs, a pharmacogenomics researcher at the Estonian Genome Center at the University of Tartu, the hotspot lies on the major histocompatibility complex gene HLA-B. Recent research has linked significant variances in HLA genes to negative medication effects. Studies have connected one HLA-B variant to adverse responses to the HIV/AIDS drug, abacavir, and another HLA-B variant to allergic reactions to the gout drug, allopurinol. The researchers evaluated more than 600,000 electronic health records for genetic information on patients who self-reported penicillin intolerance for the penicillin study. The researchers employed a number of genetic search techniques to filter through DNA in search of genetic abnormalities that may be connected to the health issue. Their search led them to a particular location on chromosome 6, where they discovered HLA-B*55:01, a variant of HLA. The researchers then compared their findings to 1.12 million individuals of European ancestry in 23andMe's study database and discovered the same connection. A search of smaller datasets of individuals with East Asian, Middle Eastern, and African ancestry showed no evidence of a comparable link, however the sample sizes were too small to be certain. Hopefully, more clarity can be found on the genetic linkage to the hypersensitivity of patients to penicillin.
Hi Bianca, I liked your blog on the allergies of penicillin through the HLA-B gene because of the immune system which allows for differentiation of cells between microorganisms and viruses. I liked how you included the statistics of 1.12 million individuals and of different groups all over Europe, Asia, and Africa
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