Publications

Emergence of antibiotic-specific phenotypes during prolonged treatment of mice.

Date Published: February 13, 2025
A major challenge in tuberculosis (TB) therapeutics is that antibiotic exposure leads to changes in the physiology of (), which may enable the pathogen to withstand treatment. While antibiotic-treated has been evaluated in experiments it is unclear if and how long-term treatment with diverse antibiotics with varying treatment-shortening activity (sterilizing…

A BCG kill switch strain protects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice and non-human primates with improved safety and immunogenicity.

Date Published: February 10, 2025
Improved vaccination strategies for tuberculosis are needed. Intravenous (i.v.) delivery of live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG provides protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in macaques but poses safety challenges. Here we genetically engineered two strains, BCG-TetON-DL and BCG-TetOFF-DL, to either induce or inhibit expression of two phage lysin operons, respectively, upon…

Engineered Mycobacterium tuberculosis triple-kill-switch strain provides controlled tuberculosis infection in animal models.

Date Published: February 10, 2025
Human challenge experiments could accelerate tuberculosis vaccine development. This requires a safe Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain that can both replicate in the host and be reliably cleared. Here we genetically engineered Mtb strains encoding up to three kill switches: two mycobacteriophage lysin operons negatively regulated by tetracycline and a degron…

Characteristics of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis and their association with treatment outcomes: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Date Published: February 1, 2025
There are few data on the treatment of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant (MDR) or rifampicin-resistant (RR) tuberculosis, especially with more recently available drugs and regimens. We aimed to describe the clinical and treatment characteristics and their associations with treatment outcomes in this susceptible population.

Relative Contributions of the Novel Diarylquinoline TBAJ-876 and its Active Metabolite to the Bactericidal Activity in a Murine Model of Tuberculosis.

Date Published: December 16, 2024
TBAJ-876 is a next-generation diarylquinoline. In vivo, diarylquinoline metabolites are formed with activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Species-specific differences in parent drug-to-metabolite ratios might impact the translational value of animal model-based predictions. This study investigates the contribution of TBAJ-876 and its major active metabolite, TBAJ-876-M3 (M3), to the total bactericidal activity…

Understanding the development of tuberculous granulomas: insights into host protection and pathogenesis, a review in humans and animals.

Date Published: December 9, 2024
Granulomas, organized aggregates of immune cells which form in response to (), are characteristic but not exclusive of tuberculosis (TB). Despite existing investigations on TB granulomas, the determinants that differentiate host-protective granulomas from granulomas that contribute to TB pathogenesis are often disputed. Thus, the goal of this narrative review is…

Twice-Daily Dolutegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy With 1 Month of Daily Rifapentine and Isoniazid for Tuberculosis Prevention.

Date Published: October 15, 2024
One month of daily rifapentine + isoniazid (1HP) is an effective, ultrashort option for tuberculosis prevention in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, rifapentine may decrease antiretroviral drug concentrations and increase the risk of virologic failure. AIDS Clinical Trials Group A5372 evaluated the effect of 1HP on the pharmacokinetics…

Mycobacteria that cause tuberculosis have retained ancestrally acquired genes for the biosynthesis of chemically diverse terpene nucleosides.

Date Published: September 30, 2024
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) releases the unusual terpene nucleoside 1-tuberculosinyladenosine (1-TbAd) to block lysosomal function and promote survival in human macrophages. Using conventional approaches, we found that genes Rv3377c and Rv3378c, but not Rv3376, were necessary for 1-TbAd biosynthesis. Here, we introduce linear models for mass spectrometry (limms) software as a…
Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine