Metabolic adaptations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to its host have become a focus of recent research, yet a comprehensive understanding of Mtb's nutrient requirements and metabolic pathways necessary for growth and persistence within its host is lacking. The majority of genes encoding enzymes in central carbon metabolism are required for growth of Mtb and, thus, belong to the class of in vitro essential genes, which are viewed as potential new drug targets. Mtb kills approximately 5000 people every day and new drugs are urgently needed to limit the impact of tuberculosis on global public health. Significant evidence suggests that Mtb metabolizes primarily fatty acids and synthesizes essential carbohydrates via gluconeogenesis during growth and persistence in vivo. However our preliminary data suggest that both glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are required for virulence, especially during chronic Mtb infections. A goal of this proposal is to determine the importance of every gene involved in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis for growth and persistence of Mtb in vitro, in macrophages and in mice. We will test the hypotheses that the stage of the infection and the immune-status of the host can control which carbon source is available to Mtb. We will measure Mtb's vulnerability to incomplete inhibition of enzymes involved in glycolysis and/or gluconeogenesis. Our work will provide a generally applicable blue print for the systematic evaluation of metabolic enzymes and pathways in vitro and in vivo and identify the glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes most attractive for drug development.

Public Health Relevance

Tuberculosis is one of the world's most devastating diseases. It is responsible for more than two million deaths and eight million new cases annually. Work outlined in this proposal will investigate the importance of two pathways in central carbon metabolism for virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It will evaluate metabolic enzymes and pathways in vitro and in vivo and identify the glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes that are most attractive for tuberculosis drug development.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI063446-08
Application #
8652427
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IDM-S (03))
Program Officer
Lacourciere, Karen A
Project Start
2004-12-01
Project End
2017-04-30
Budget Start
2014-05-01
Budget End
2015-04-30
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$469,498
Indirect Cost
$189,083
Name
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
060217502
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10065
Ehrt, Sabine; Schnappinger, Dirk; Rhee, Kyu Y (2018) Metabolic principles of persistence and pathogenicity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nat Rev Microbiol 16:496-507
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Lin, Kan; O'Brien, Kathryn M; Trujillo, Carolina et al. (2016) Mycobacterium tuberculosis Thioredoxin Reductase Is Essential for Thiol Redox Homeostasis but Plays a Minor Role in Antioxidant Defense. PLoS Pathog 12:e1005675
Ganapathy, Uday; Marrero, Joeli; Calhoun, Susannah et al. (2015) Two enzymes with redundant fructose bisphosphatase activity sustain gluconeogenesis and virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nat Commun 6:7912
Ehrt, Sabine; Rhee, Kyu; Schnappinger, Dirk (2015) Mycobacterial genes essential for the pathogen's survival in the host. Immunol Rev 264:319-26
Trujillo, Carolina; Blumenthal, Antje; Marrero, Joeli et al. (2014) Triosephosphate isomerase is dispensable in vitro yet essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis to establish infection. MBio 5:e00085
Danilchanka, Olga; Sun, Jim; Pavlenok, Mikhail et al. (2014) An outer membrane channel protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with exotoxin activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:6750-5
Schnappinger, Dirk; Ehrt, Sabine (2014) Regulated Expression Systems for Mycobacteria and Their Applications. Microbiol Spectr 2:
Puckett, Susan; Trujillo, Carolina; Eoh, Hyungjin et al. (2014) Inactivation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase prevents optimal co-catabolism of glycolytic and gluconeogenic carbon substrates in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PLoS Pathog 10:e1004144
Marrero, Joeli; Trujillo, Carolina; Rhee, Kyu Y et al. (2013) Glucose phosphorylation is required for Mycobacterium tuberculosis persistence in mice. PLoS Pathog 9:e1003116

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