Expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and VDR target genes in an African and Caucasian population: the impact of vitamin D and mycobacterial elicitation.

M.Sc. (Biochemistry)Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that worldwide, is more prevalent in Africans compared to Caucasians. TB also affects males to a greater extent than females. Genetic associations between VDR sequence variants and TB is often inconsistent across different populations. Epigenetic and environmental factors, as well as ethnicity may confound associations found between VDR and TB..