Medicine
Genomic Markers of Drug-Induced Liver Injury Susceptibility
Quick fact
Specific variants of the HLA class I and class II genes are strongly associated with DILI from common drugs; for example, HLA-B57:01 is linked to a 7-fold increased risk of flucloxacillin-induced liver injury, yet this variant is present in fewer than 5% of the population.
Why this is interesting
Every year, seemingly safe drugs—like antibiotics or painkillers—cause severe liver failure in a few patients. Why does one person's liver tolerate a drug while another's fails catastrophically?