Researchers at the University of Otago have discovered a new way to treat an antibiotic-resistant strain (TB) of tuberculosis, opening the door to a new approach to tackling the disease that kills about 4,000 people a day.
Researchers, led by PhD candidate Natalie Waller and senior author Matthew McNeil, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, were able to identify antibiotics that can rapidly kill drug-resistant strains. tuberculosis Together, they can completely stop the development of drug resistance.
tuberculosis It is the leading global cause of infectious disease morbidity and mortality, second only to COVID-19, and one of the most difficult infections to treat. Ten million people develop the disease each year, and about 4,000 die each day.about 300 tuberculosis It is diagnosed annually in New Zealand.
Adding to the challenge is the “amazing rate” of drug-resistant strains of this highly difficult-to-treat disease with limited treatment options.
“We need not just new drugs, but better drug combinations that can improve treatment success and prevent the further spread of antibiotic resistance,” says Dr. McNeil.
Antibiotic resistance usually leads to decreased susceptibility, but in some cases, resistance to one antibiotic can make pathogens more sensitive to other completely unrelated antibiotics, he said. But this phenomenon – collateral sensitivity – has been largely unstudied so far. tuberculosisuntil now.
“It is a very hardy, resilient, and very slow-growing, dangerous pathogen that is difficult to study in the laboratory.
“To overcome this, our study used an attenuated, non-pathogenic strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that neither causes disease nor survives outside the laboratory, and is resistant to various antibiotics. We’ve generated resistant strains,” he says.
The researchers then determined whether drug-resistant strains of bacteria increased or decreased susceptibility to other antibiotics.
“We wanted to maximize the potential for the results of our study to have clinical impact. We’re focused on drugs that are in development,” says Dr. McNeil.
“Interestingly, this study identified a number of instances in which specific drug-resistant strains were more sensitive to antibiotics that target completely unrelated pathways. can be used to design unique drug combinations that rapidly kill drug-resistant strains and prevent the emergence of drug resistance.
“Simply put, this study shows that drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis have unique weaknesses. If we could identify them, we could significantly reduce treatment time and prevent the emergence of drug resistance. ”
Dr. McNeill says the focus needs to be on further extending these findings to animal studies.
“There is still work to be done, but there is no doubt that this is an important step in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
Original: An important step in the fight against drug resistance in tuberculosis
Than: University of Otago
