In conclusion, the present study identified several key gene pairs (RIC8A-ATP1A4, HIST1H3C-HIST2H3D, HIST1H3E-BATF, MICAL1-TYK2) associated with pulmonary TB or TB latent infection by comprehensive bioinformatics methods, which may provide new insights for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Here, RIC8A is linked to tuberculosis.