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Boucau J, Naidoo T, Liu Y, Dasgupta S, Jain N, Castillo JR, Jacobson NE, Nargan K, Cimini BA, Eliceiri KW, Steyn AJ, Barczak AK. A mouse model of TB-associated lung fibrosis reveals persistent inflammatory macrophage populations during treatment. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.04.597479. [PMID: 38895338 PMCID: PMC11185692 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.04.597479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Post-TB lung disease (PTLD) causes a significant burden of global disease. Fibrosis is a central component of many clinical features of PTLD. To date, we have a limited understanding of the mechanisms of TB-associated fibrosis and how these mechanisms are similar to or dissimilar from other fibrotic lung pathologies. We have adapted a mouse model of TB infection to facilitate the mechanistic study of TB-associated lung fibrosis. We find that the morphologies of fibrosis that develop in the mouse model are similar to the morphologies of fibrosis observed in human tissue samples. Using Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy, we are able to quantify a major component of fibrosis, fibrillar collagen, over time and with treatment. Inflammatory macrophage subpopulations persist during treatment; matrix remodeling enzymes and inflammatory gene signatures remain elevated. Our mouse model suggests that there is a therapeutic window during which adjunctive therapies could change matrix remodeling or inflammatory drivers of tissue pathology to improve functional outcomes after treatment for TB infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Boucau
- The Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Threnesan Naidoo
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Departments of Forensic & Legal Medicine and Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| | - Yuming Liu
- Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Neha Jain
- The Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Nicholas E. Jacobson
- Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Kievershen Nargan
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Kevin W. Eliceiri
- Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Adrie J.C. Steyn
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Centers for AIDS Research and Free Radical Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Amy K. Barczak
- The Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Dartois V, Dick T. Therapeutic developments for tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2024; 23:381-403. [PMID: 38418662 PMCID: PMC11078618 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-024-00897-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery and development has undergone nothing short of a revolution over the past 20 years. Successful public-private partnerships and sustained funding have delivered a much-improved understanding of mycobacterial disease biology and pharmacology and a healthy pipeline that can tolerate inevitable attrition. Preclinical and clinical development has evolved from decade-old concepts to adaptive designs that permit rapid evaluation of regimens that might greatly shorten treatment duration over the next decade. But the past 20 years also saw the rise of a fatal and difficult-to-cure lung disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), for which the drug development pipeline is nearly empty. Here, we discuss the similarities and differences between TB and NTM lung diseases, compare the preclinical and clinical advances, and identify major knowledge gaps and areas of cross-fertilization. We argue that applying paradigms and networks that have proved successful for TB, from basic research to clinical trials, will help to populate the pipeline and accelerate curative regimen development for NTM disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Dartois
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA.
- Department of Medical Sciences, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, USA.
| | - Thomas Dick
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
- Department of Medical Sciences, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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3
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Cross GB, O’ Doherty J, Chang CC, Kelleher AD, Paton NI. Does PET-CT Have a Role in the Evaluation of Tuberculosis Treatment in Phase 2 Clinical Trials? J Infect Dis 2024; 229:1229-1238. [PMID: 37788578 PMCID: PMC11011169 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) has the potential to revolutionize research in infectious diseases, as it has done with cancer. There is growing interest in it as a biomarker in the setting of early-phase tuberculosis clinical trials, particularly given the limitations of current biomarkers as adequate predictors of sterilizing cure for tuberculosis. PET-CT is a real-time tool that provides a 3-dimensional view of the spatial distribution of tuberculosis within the lung parenchyma and the nature of lesions with uptake (ie, whether nodular, consolidative, or cavitary). Its ability to provide functional data on changes in metabolism, drug penetration, and immune control of tuberculous lesions has the potential to facilitate drug development and regimen selection for advancement to phase 3 trials in tuberculosis. In this narrative review, we discuss the role that PET-CT may have in evaluating responses to drug therapy in active tuberculosis treatment and the challenges in taking PET-CT forward as predictive biomarker of relapse-free cure in the setting of phase 2 clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gail B Cross
- Immunovirology and Pathogenesis Program, The Kirby Institute, UNSW, Sydney
- Burnet Institute, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jim O’ Doherty
- Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Radiography & Diagnostic Imaging, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Christina C Chang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Durban, South Africa
| | - Anthony D Kelleher
- Immunovirology and Pathogenesis Program, The Kirby Institute, UNSW, Sydney
- St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Nicholas I Paton
- Infectious Disease Translational Research Programme, National University of Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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4
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Nuermberger EL, Chaisson RE. Restocking the tuberculosis drug arsenal. Nat Med 2024; 30:642-643. [PMID: 38459183 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-02840-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Eric L Nuermberger
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Richard E Chaisson
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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5
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Diacon AH, Barry CE, Carlton A, Chen RY, Davies M, de Jager V, Fletcher K, Koh GCKW, Kontsevaya I, Heyckendorf J, Lange C, Reimann M, Penman SL, Scott R, Maher-Edwards G, Tiberi S, Vlasakakis G, Upton CM, Aguirre DB. A first-in-class leucyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor, ganfeborole, for rifampicin-susceptible tuberculosis: a phase 2a open-label, randomized trial. Nat Med 2024; 30:896-904. [PMID: 38365949 PMCID: PMC10957473 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-02829-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
New tuberculosis treatments are needed to address drug resistance, lengthy treatment duration and adverse reactions of available agents. GSK3036656 (ganfeborole) is a first-in-class benzoxaborole inhibiting the Mycobacterium tuberculosis leucyl-tRNA synthetase. Here, in this phase 2a, single-center, open-label, randomized trial, we assessed early bactericidal activity (primary objective) and safety and pharmacokinetics (secondary objectives) of ganfeborole in participants with untreated, rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis. Overall, 75 males were treated with ganfeborole (1/5/15/30 mg) or standard of care (Rifafour e-275 or generic alternative) once daily for 14 days. We observed numerical reductions in daily sputum-derived colony-forming units from baseline in participants receiving 5, 15 and 30 mg once daily but not those receiving 1 mg ganfeborole. Adverse event rates were comparable across groups; all events were grade 1 or 2. In a participant subset, post hoc exploratory computational analysis of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography findings showed measurable treatment responses across several lesion types in those receiving ganfeborole 30 mg at day 14. Analysis of whole-blood transcriptional treatment response to ganfeborole 30 mg at day 14 revealed a strong association with neutrophil-dominated transcriptional modules. The demonstrated bactericidal activity and acceptable safety profile suggest that ganfeborole is a potential candidate for combination treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03557281 .
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Clifton E Barry
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Ray Y Chen
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Irina Kontsevaya
- Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Borstel, Germany
- Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, German Center for Infection Research, Borstel and the University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jan Heyckendorf
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Christoph Lange
- Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Borstel, Germany
- Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Maja Reimann
- Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Borstel, Germany
- Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Simon Tiberi
- GSK, London, UK
- Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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6
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Krug S, Gupta M, Kumar P, Feller L, Ihms EA, Kang BG, Srikrishna G, Dawson TM, Dawson VL, Bishai WR. Inhibition of host PARP1 contributes to the anti-inflammatory and antitubercular activity of pyrazinamide. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8161. [PMID: 38071218 PMCID: PMC10710439 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43937-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The antibiotic pyrazinamide (PZA) is a cornerstone of tuberculosis (TB) therapy that shortens treatment durations by several months despite being only weakly bactericidal. Intriguingly, PZA is also an anti-inflammatory molecule shown to specifically reduce inflammatory cytokine signaling and lesion activity in TB patients. However, the target and clinical importance of PZA's host-directed activity during TB therapy remain unclear. Here, we identify the host enzyme Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP1), a pro-inflammatory master regulator strongly activated in TB, as a functionally relevant host target of PZA. We show that PZA inhibits PARP1 enzymatic activity in macrophages and in mice where it reverses TB-induced PARP1 activity in lungs to uninfected levels. Utilizing a PZA-resistant mutant, we demonstrate that PZA's immune-modulatory effects are PARP1-dependent but independent of its bactericidal activity. Importantly, PZA's bactericidal efficacy is impaired in PARP1-deficient mice, suggesting that immune modulation may be an integral component of PZA's antitubercular activity. In addition, adjunctive PARP1 inhibition dramatically reduces inflammation and lesion size in mice and may be a means to reduce lung damage and shorten TB treatment duration. Together, these findings provide insight into PZA's mechanism of action and the therapeutic potential of PARP1 inhibition in the treatment of TB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Krug
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Manish Gupta
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Pankaj Kumar
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laine Feller
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Ihms
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Bong Gu Kang
- Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Geetha Srikrishna
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ted M Dawson
- Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Valina L Dawson
- Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - William R Bishai
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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7
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Hammoud DA, Clifford Lane H, Jain SK. Molecular Imaging of Infections: Advancing the Search for the Hidden Enemy. J Infect Dis 2023; 228:S233-S236. [PMID: 37788496 PMCID: PMC10547366 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, infections were a major threat to human health, as the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of morbidity among all human diseases. Although conventional imaging studies are routinely used for patients with infections, they provide structural or anatomic information only. Molecular imaging technologies enable noninvasive visualization of molecular processes at the cellular level within intact living subjects, including patients, and hold great potential for infections. We hope that this supplement will spur interest in the field and establish new collaborations to develop and translate novel molecular imaging approaches to the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dima A Hammoud
- Center for Infectious Disease Imaging, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - H Clifford Lane
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Sanjay K Jain
- Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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8
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Chen RH, Michael T, Kuhlin J, Schön T, Stocker S, Alffenaar JWC. Is there a need to optimise pyrazinamide doses in patients with tuberculosis? A systematic review. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2023; 62:106914. [PMID: 37419292 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2023.106914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a first-line antituberculosis drug with potent sterilising activity. Variability in drug exposure may translate into suboptimal treatment responses. This systematic review, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, aimed to evaluate the concentration-effect relationship. In vitro/in vivo studies had to contain information on the infection model, PZA dose and concentration, and microbiological outcome. Human studies had to present information on PZA dose, measures of drug exposure and maximum concentration, and microbiological response parameter or overall treatment outcome. A total of 34 studies were assessed, including in vitro (n = 2), in vivo (n = 3) and clinical studies (n = 29). Intracellular and extracellular models demonstrated a direct correlation between PZA dose of 15-50 mg/kg/day and reduction in bacterial count between 0.50-27.7 log10 CFU/mL. Consistent with this, higher PZA doses (>150 mg/kg) were associated with a greater reduction in bacterial burden in BALB/c mice models. Human pharmacokinetic studies displayed a linear positive correlation between PZA dose (i.e. 21.4-35.7 mg/kg/day) and drug exposure (AUC range 220.6-514.5 mg·h/L). Additionally, human studies confirmed a dose-effect relationship, with an increased 2-month sputum culture conversion rate at AUC/MIC targets of 8.4-11.3 with higher exposure/susceptibility ratios leading to greater efficacy. A 5-fold variability in AUC was observed at PZA dose of 25 mg/kg. A direct concentration-effect relationship and increased treatment efficacy with higher PZA exposure to susceptibility ratios was observed. Taking into account variability in drug exposure and treatment response, further studies on dose optimisation are justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricky Hao Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Toni Michael
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Johanna Kuhlin
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medicine Solna, Division of Infectious Diseases, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Thomas Schön
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Infectious Diseases, Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Infectious Diseases, Kalmar County Hospital, Linköping University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Sophie Stocker
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Clinical Medicine, St Vincent's Healthcare Clinical Campus, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Jan-Willem C Alffenaar
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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9
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Kalam H, Chou CH, Kadoki M, Graham DB, Deguine J, Hung DT, Xavier RJ. Identification of host regulators of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phenotypes uncovers a role for the MMGT1-GPR156 lipid droplet axis in persistence. Cell Host Microbe 2023; 31:978-992.e5. [PMID: 37269834 PMCID: PMC10373099 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to establish latency affects disease and response to treatment. The host factors that influence the establishment of latency remain elusive. We engineered a multi-fluorescent Mtb strain that reports survival, active replication, and stressed non-replication states and determined the host transcriptome of the infected macrophages in these states. Additionally, we conducted a genome-wide CRISPR screen to identify host factors that modulated the phenotypic state of Mtb. We validated hits in a phenotype-specific manner and prioritized membrane magnesium transporter 1 (MMGT1) for a detailed mechanistic investigation. Mtb infection of MMGT1-deficient macrophages promoted a switch to persistence, upregulated lipid metabolism genes, and accumulated lipid droplets during infection. Targeting triacylglycerol synthesis reduced both droplet formation and Mtb persistence. The orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR156 is a key inducer of droplet accumulation in ΔMMGT1 cells. Our work uncovers the role of MMGT1-GPR156-lipid droplets in the induction of Mtb persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haroon Kalam
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Chih-Hung Chou
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Motohiko Kadoki
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Daniel B Graham
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Jacques Deguine
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Deborah T Hung
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ramnik J Xavier
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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10
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Krug S, Prasad P, Xiao S, Lun S, Ruiz-Bedoya CA, Klunk M, Ordonez AA, Jain SK, Srikrishna G, Kramnik I, Bishai WR. Adjunctive Integrated Stress Response Inhibition Accelerates Tuberculosis Clearance in Mice. mBio 2023; 14:e0349622. [PMID: 36853048 PMCID: PMC10128048 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03496-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite numerous advances in tuberculosis (TB) drug development, long treatment durations have led to the emergence of multidrug resistance, which poses a major hurdle to global TB control. Shortening treatment time therefore remains a top priority. Host-directed therapies that promote bacterial clearance and/or lung health may improve the efficacy and treatment duration of tuberculosis antibiotics. We recently discovered that inhibition of the integrated stress response, which is abnormally activated in tuberculosis and associated with necrotic granuloma formation, reduced bacterial numbers and lung inflammation in mice. Here, we evaluated the impact of the integrated stress response (ISR) inhibitor ISRIB, administered as an adjunct to standard tuberculosis antibiotics, on bacterial clearance, relapse, and lung pathology in a mouse model of tuberculosis. Throughout the course of treatment, ISRIB robustly lowered bacterial burdens compared to the burdens with standard TB therapy alone and accelerated the time to sterility in mice, as demonstrated by significantly reduced relapse rates after 4 months of treatment. In addition, mice receiving adjunctive ISRIB tended to have reduced lung necrosis and inflammation. Together, our findings identify the ISR pathway as a promising therapeutic target with the potential to shorten TB treatment durations and improve lung health. IMPORTANCE Necrosis of lung lesions is a hallmark of tuberculosis (TB) that promotes bacterial growth, dissemination, and transmission. This process is driven by the persistent hyperactivation of the integrated stress response (ISR) pathway. Here, we show that adjunctive ISR inhibition during standard antibiotic therapy accelerates bacterial clearance and reduces immunopathology in a clinically relevant mouse model of TB, suggesting that host-directed therapies that de-escalate these pathological stress responses may shorten TB treatment durations. Our findings present an important conceptual advance toward overcoming the challenge of improving TB therapy and lowering the global burden of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Krug
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Pankaj Prasad
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Shiqi Xiao
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Shichun Lun
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Camilo A. Ruiz-Bedoya
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Mariah Klunk
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Alvaro A. Ordonez
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Sanjay K. Jain
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Geetha Srikrishna
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Igor Kramnik
- The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - William R. Bishai
- Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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11
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Greenstein T, Aldridge BB. Tools to develop antibiotic combinations that target drug tolerance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 12:1085946. [PMID: 36733851 PMCID: PMC9888313 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1085946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Combination therapy is necessary to treat tuberculosis to decrease the rate of disease relapse and prevent the acquisition of drug resistance, and shorter regimens are urgently needed. The adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to various lesion microenvironments in infection induces various states of slow replication and non-replication and subsequent antibiotic tolerance. This non-heritable tolerance to treatment necessitates lengthy combination therapy. Therefore, it is critical to develop combination therapies that specifically target the different types of drug-tolerant cells in infection. As new tools to study drug combinations earlier in the drug development pipeline are being actively developed, we must consider how to best model the drug-tolerant cells to use these tools to design the best antibiotic combinations that target those cells and shorten tuberculosis therapy. In this review, we discuss the factors underlying types of drug tolerance, how combination therapy targets these populations of bacteria, and how drug tolerance is currently modeled for the development of tuberculosis multidrug therapy. We highlight areas for future studies to develop new tools that better model drug tolerance in tuberculosis infection specifically for combination therapy testing to bring the best drug regimens forward to the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia Greenstein
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Bree B Aldridge
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Stuart B. Levy Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, United States
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12
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Lawal IO, Abubakar S, Ankrah AO, Sathekge MM. Molecular Imaging of Tuberculosis. Semin Nucl Med 2023; 53:37-56. [PMID: 35882621 DOI: 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2022.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Despite the introduction of many novel diagnostic techniques and newer treatment agents, tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide. With about a quarter of humanity harboring Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, the current efforts geared towards reducing the scourge due to TB must be sustained. At the same time, newer alternative modalities for diagnosis and treatment response assessment are considered. Molecular imaging entails the use of radioactive probes that exploit molecular targets expressed by microbes or human cells for imaging using hybrid scanners that provide both anatomic and functional features of the disease being imaged. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is the most investigated radioactive probe for TB imaging in research and clinical practice. When imaged with positron emission tomography interphase with computed tomography (PET/CT), FDG PET/CT performs better than sputum conversion for predicting treatment outcome. At the end of treatment, FDG PET/CT has demonstrated the unique ability to identify a subset of patients declared cured based on the current standard of care but who still harbor live bacilli capable of causing disease relapse after therapy discontinuation. Our understanding of the pathogenesis and evolution of TB has improved significantly in the last decade, owing to the introduction of FDG PET/CT in TB research. FDG is a non-specific probe as it targets the host inflammatory response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is not specifically different in TB compared with other infectious conditions. Ongoing efforts are geared towards evaluating the utility of newer probes targeting different components of the TB granuloma, the hallmark of TB lesions, including hypoxia, neovascularization, and fibrosis, in TB management. The most exciting category of non-FDG PET probes developed for molecular imaging of TB appears to be radiolabeled anti-tuberculous drugs for use in studying the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the drugs. This allows for the non-invasive study of drug kinetics in different body compartments concurrently, providing an insight into the spatial heterogeneity of drug exposure in different TB lesions. The ability to repeat molecular imaging using radiolabeled anti-tuberculous agents also offers an opportunity to study the temporal changes in drug kinetics within the different lesions during treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismaheel O Lawal
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
| | - Sofiullah Abubakar
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Center, Muscat, Oman
| | - Alfred O Ankrah
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa; National Center for Radiotherapy Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana; Medical Imaging Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mike M Sathekge
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa; Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa
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Larkins-Ford J, Aldridge BB. Advances in the design of combination therapies for the treatment of tuberculosis. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2023; 18:83-97. [PMID: 36538813 PMCID: PMC9892364 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2023.2157811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis requires lengthy multi-drug therapy. Mycobacterium tuberculosis occupies different tissue compartments during infection, making drug access and susceptibility patterns variable. Antibiotic combinations are needed to ensure each compartment of infection is reached with effective drug treatment. Despite drug combinations' role in treating tuberculosis, the design of such combinations has been tackled relatively late in the drug development process, limiting the number of drug combinations tested. In recent years, there has been significant progress using in vitro, in vivo, and computational methodologies to interrogate combination drug effects. AREAS COVERED This review discusses the advances in these methodologies and how they may be used in conjunction with new successful clinical trials of novel drug combinations to design optimized combination therapies for tuberculosis. Literature searches for approaches and experimental models used to evaluate drug combination effects were undertaken. EXPERT OPINION We are entering an era richer in combination drug effect and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data, genetic tools, and outcome measurement types. Application of computational modeling approaches that integrate these data and produce predictive models of clinical outcomes may enable the field to generate novel, effective multidrug therapies using existing and new drug combination backbones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonah Larkins-Ford
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Tufts University School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Stuart B. Levy Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance (CIMAR), Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Current address: MarvelBiome Inc, Woburn, MA, USA
| | - Bree B. Aldridge
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Tufts University School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Stuart B. Levy Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance (CIMAR), Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, USA
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14
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Mishra S, Saito K. Clinically encountered growth phenotypes of tuberculosis-causing bacilli and their in vitro study: A review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1029111. [PMID: 36439231 PMCID: PMC9684195 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1029111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The clinical manifestations of tuberculosis (TB) vary widely in severity, site of infection, and outcomes of treatment-leading to simultaneous efforts to individualize therapy safely and to search for shorter regimens that can be successfully used across the clinical spectrum. In these endeavors, clinicians and researchers alike employ mycobacterial culture in rich media. However, even within the same patient, individual bacilli among the population can exhibit substantial variability in their culturability. Bacilli in vitro also demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in replication rate and cultivation requirements, as well as susceptibility to killing by antimicrobials. Understanding parallels in clinical, ex vivo and in vitro growth phenotype diversity may be key to identifying those phenotypes responsible for treatment failure, relapse, and the reactivation of bacilli that progresses TB infection to disease. This review briefly summarizes the current role of mycobacterial culture in the care of patients with TB and the ex vivo evidence of variability in TB culturability. We then discuss current advances in in vitro models that study heterogenous subpopulations within a genetically identical bulk culture, with an emphasis on the effect of oxidative stress on bacillary cultivation requirements. The review highlights the complexity that heterogeneity in mycobacterial growth brings to the interpretation of culture in clinical settings and research. It also underscores the intricacies present in the interplay between growth phenotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility. Better understanding of population dynamics and growth requirements over time and space promises to aid both the attempts to individualize TB treatment and to find uniformly effective therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saurabh Mishra
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Kohta Saito
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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15
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Dartois VA, Rubin EJ. Anti-tuberculosis treatment strategies and drug development: challenges and priorities. Nat Rev Microbiol 2022; 20:685-701. [PMID: 35478222 PMCID: PMC9045034 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00731-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 66.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Despite two decades of intensified research to understand and cure tuberculosis disease, biological uncertainties remain and hamper progress. However, owing to collaborative initiatives including academia, the pharmaceutical industry and non-for-profit organizations, the drug candidate pipeline is promising. This exceptional success comes with the inherent challenge of prioritizing multidrug regimens for clinical trials and revamping trial designs to accelerate regimen development and capitalize on drug discovery breakthroughs. Most wanted are markers of progression from latent infection to active pulmonary disease, markers of drug response and predictors of relapse, in vitro tools to uncover synergies that translate clinically and animal models to reliably assess the treatment shortening potential of new regimens. In this Review, we highlight the benefits and challenges of 'one-size-fits-all' regimens and treatment duration versus individualized therapy based on disease severity and host and pathogen characteristics, considering scientific and operational perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique A Dartois
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA.
| | - Eric J Rubin
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA, USA
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16
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Jones RM, Adams KN, Eldesouky HE, Sherman DR. The evolving biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1027394. [PMID: 36275024 PMCID: PMC9579286 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1027394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an ancient disease that has remained a leading cause of infectious death. Mtb has evolved drug resistance to every antibiotic regimen ever introduced, greatly complicating treatment, lowering rates of cure and menacing TB control in parts of the world. As technology has advanced, our understanding of antimicrobial resistance has improved, and our models of the phenomenon have evolved. In this review, we focus on recent research progress that supports an updated model for the evolution of drug resistance in Mtb. We highlight the contribution of drug tolerance on the path to resistance, and the influence of heterogeneity on tolerance. Resistance is likely to remain an issue for as long as drugs are needed to treat TB. However, with technology driving new insights and careful management of newly developed resources, antimicrobial resistance need not continue to threaten global progress against TB, as it has done for decades.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - David R. Sherman
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
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17
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Heyckendorf J, Georghiou SB, Frahm N, Heinrich N, Kontsevaya I, Reimann M, Holtzman D, Imperial M, Cirillo DM, Gillespie SH, Ruhwald M. Tuberculosis Treatment Monitoring and Outcome Measures: New Interest and New Strategies. Clin Microbiol Rev 2022; 35:e0022721. [PMID: 35311552 PMCID: PMC9491169 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00227-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the advent of new diagnostics, drugs and regimens, tuberculosis (TB) remains a global public health threat. A significant challenge for TB control efforts has been the monitoring of TB therapy and determination of TB treatment success. Current recommendations for TB treatment monitoring rely on sputum and culture conversion, which have low sensitivity and long turnaround times, present biohazard risk, and are prone to contamination, undermining their usefulness as clinical treatment monitoring tools and for drug development. We review the pipeline of molecular technologies and assays that serve as suitable substitutes for current culture-based readouts for treatment response and outcome with the potential to change TB therapy monitoring and accelerate drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Heyckendorf
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
- Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany
- International Health/Infectious Diseases, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | | | - Nicole Frahm
- Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Norbert Heinrich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Centre of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Irina Kontsevaya
- Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany
- International Health/Infectious Diseases, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Maja Reimann
- Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany
- International Health/Infectious Diseases, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - David Holtzman
- FIND, the Global Alliance for Diagnostics, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marjorie Imperial
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA, United States
| | - Daniela M. Cirillo
- Emerging Bacterial Pathogens Unit, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Stephen H. Gillespie
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrewsgrid.11914.3c, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
| | - Morten Ruhwald
- FIND, the Global Alliance for Diagnostics, Geneva, Switzerland
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18
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Larkins-Ford J, Degefu YN, Van N, Sokolov A, Aldridge BB. Design principles to assemble drug combinations for effective tuberculosis therapy using interpretable pairwise drug response measurements. Cell Rep Med 2022; 3:100737. [PMID: 36084643 PMCID: PMC9512659 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
A challenge in tuberculosis treatment regimen design is the necessity to combine three or more antibiotics. We narrow the prohibitively large search space by breaking down high-order drug combinations into drug pair units. Using pairwise in vitro measurements, we train machine learning models to predict higher-order combination treatment outcomes in the relapsing BALB/c mouse model. Classifiers perform well and predict many of the >500 possible combinations among 12 antibiotics to be improved over bedaquiline + pretomanid + linezolid, a treatment-shortening regimen compared with the standard of care in mice. We reformulate classifiers as simple rulesets to reveal guiding principles of constructing combination therapies for both preclinical and clinical outcomes. One example ruleset combines a drug pair that is synergistic in a dormancy model with a pair that is potent in a cholesterol-rich growth environment. These rulesets are predictive, intuitive, and practical, thus enabling rational construction of drug combinations. Evaluate the large drug combination space for potential tuberculosis treatments In vitro 2-drug combination measurements predict 3–4 drug treatment outcomes in vivo Strongly synergistic, antagonistic, or potent drug pairs drive treatment outcome Simple rules articulate drug combination design principles for tuberculosis
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19
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Jones A, Saini J, Kriel B, Via LE, Cai Y, Allies D, Hanna D, Hermann D, Loxton AG, Walzl G, Diacon AH, Romero K, Higashiyama R, Liu Y, Berg A. Sputum lipoarabinomannan (LAM) as a biomarker to determine sputum mycobacterial load: exploratory and model-based analyses of integrated data from four cohorts. BMC Infect Dis 2022; 22:327. [PMID: 35366820 PMCID: PMC8976459 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07308-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Despite the high global disease burden of tuberculosis (TB), the disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, novel treatments remain an urgent medical need. Development efforts continue to be hampered by the reliance on culture-based methods, which often take weeks to obtain due to the slow growth rate of Mtb. The availability of a “real-time” measure of treatment efficacy could accelerate TB drug development. Sputum lipoarabinomannan (LAM; an Mtb cell wall glycolipid) has promise as a pharmacodynamic biomarker of mycobacterial sputum load. Methods The present analysis evaluates LAM as a surrogate for Mtb burden in the sputum samples from 4 cohorts of a total of 776 participants. These include those from 2 cohorts of 558 non-TB and TB participants prior to the initiation of treatment (558 sputum samples), 1 cohort of 178 TB patients under a 14-day bactericidal activity trial with various mono- or multi-TB drug therapies, and 1 cohort of 40 TB patients with data from the first 56-day treatment of a standard 4-drug regimen. Results Regression analysis demonstrated that LAM was a predictor of colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL values obtained from the 14-day treatment cohort, with well-estimated model parameters (relative standard error ≤ 22.2%). Moreover, no changes in the relationship between LAM and CFU/mL were observed across the different treatments, suggesting that sputum LAM can be used to reasonably estimate the CFU/mL in the presence of treatment. The integrated analysis showed that sputum LAM also appears to be as good a predictor of time to Mycobacteria Growth Incubator Tube (MGIT) positivity as CFU/mL. As a binary readout, sputum LAM positivity is a strong predictor of solid media or MGIT culture positivity with an area-under-the-curve value of 0.979 and 0.976, respectively, from receiver-operator curve analysis. Conclusions Our results indicate that sputum LAM performs as a pharmacodynamic biomarker for rapid measurement of Mtb burden in sputum, and thereby may enable more efficient early phase clinical trial designs (e.g., adaptive designs) to compare candidate anti-TB regimens and streamline dose selection for use in pivotal trials. Trial registration NexGen EBA study (NCT02371681) Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-022-07308-3.
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20
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Chung ES, Johnson WC, Aldridge BB. Types and functions of heterogeneity in mycobacteria. Nat Rev Microbiol 2022; 20:529-541. [PMID: 35365812 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00721-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The remarkable ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to survive attacks from the host immune response and drug treatment is due to the resilience of a few bacilli rather than a result of survival of the entire population. Maintenance of mycobacterial subpopulations with distinct phenotypic characteristics is key for survival in the face of dynamic and variable stressors encountered during infection. Mycobacterial populations develop a wide range of phenotypes through an innate asymmetric growth pattern and adaptation to fluctuating microenvironments during infection that point to heterogeneity being a vital survival strategy. In this Review, we describe different types of mycobacterial heterogeneity and discuss how heterogeneity is generated and regulated in response to environmental cues. We discuss how this heterogeneity may have a key role in recording memory of their environment at both the single-cell level and the population level to give mycobacterial populations plasticity to withstand complex stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Seon Chung
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William C Johnson
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.,Tufts University School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bree B Aldridge
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. .,Tufts University School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, USA. .,Stuart B. Levy Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, USA.
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21
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Wallis RS, Ginindza S, Beattie T, Arjun N, Likoti M, Sebe M, Edward VA, Rassool M, Ahmed K, Fielding K, Ahidjo BA, Vangu MDT, Churchyard G. Lung and blood early biomarkers for host-directed tuberculosis therapies: Secondary outcome measures from a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0252097. [PMID: 35120127 PMCID: PMC8815935 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current tuberculosis treatments leave most patients with bronchiectasis and fibrosis, permanent conditions that impair lung function and increase all-cause post-TB mortality. Host-directed therapies (HDTs) may reduce lung inflammation and hasten eradication of infection. Biomarkers can accelerate tuberculosis regimen development, but no studies have yet examined early biomarkers of TB-HDTs. METHODS Biomarkers of inflammation and microbicidal activity were evaluated as a part of a recent phase-2 randomized controlled trial of four HDTs in 200 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and baseline predictors of poor outcome, including CC-11050 (PDE4i), everolimus (mTORi), auranofin (oral gold salt), and ergocalciferol (vitamin D). Two of the 4 arms (CC-11050 and everolimus) showed superior recovery of lung function at day 180 compared to control; none showed accelerated eradication of MTB infection. Patients underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) on entry and day 56. PET signals were analyzed according to total, maximal, and peak glycolytic activity; CT was analyzed according to total modified Hounsfield units to assess radiodensity. Mycobactericidal activity in ex vivo whole blood culture was measured on days 42, 84, and 140. C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured at multiple time points. RESULTS All PET/CT parameters showed highly significant reductions from baseline to day 56; however, only maximal or peak glycolytic activity showed further experimental reduction compared to controls, and only in everolimus recipients. CRP dropped precipitously during early treatment, but did so equally in all arms; over the entire period of treatment, the rate of decline of CRP tended to be greater in CC-11050 recipients than in controls but this fell short of statistical significance. Whole blood mycobactericidal activity in ex-vivo culture was enhanced by auranofin compared to controls, but not by other HDTs. CONCLUSIONS None of these early biomarkers correctly predicted HDT effects on inflammation or infection across all four experimental arms. Instead, they each appear to show highly specific responses related to HDT mechanisms of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert S. Wallis
- Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | | | - Trevor Beattie
- Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, School of Public Health, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Vinodh A. Edward
- Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, School of Public Health, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Schools of Pathology (VAE) and Medicine (MDTV), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Mohammed Rassool
- Schools of Pathology (VAE) and Medicine (MDTV), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Clinical HIV Research Unit, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Katherine Fielding
- Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Mboyo D. T. Vangu
- Schools of Pathology (VAE) and Medicine (MDTV), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Gavin Churchyard
- Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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