Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a cornerstone of modern TB chemotherapy due to its unique ability to shorten the duration of nearly all clinically used regimens. However, resistance is emerging while prospects for a replacement remain lacking, threatening the duration of all future chemotherapies. Understanding the molecular basis for the unique activity of PZA will allow development of additional regimen shortening agents that target the same pathways. However, efforts to develop a functional replacement for PZA remain hindered by fundamental gaps in our understanding of its microbiologic and biochemical targets. Here, we propose to overcome these gaps by identifying physiologic biomarkers of PZA activity and susceptibility. These studies will specifically integrate experimental studies of PZA in vitro activity with in vivo studies of PZA activity as reported by the transcriptional profiles of Mtb recovered from the lungs of infected mice or sputa of culture confirmed patients. Based on our preliminary data, these studies will also test the specific hypothesis that PZA targets Mtb subpopulations whose viability is strictly dependent on NAD salvage pathway activity. By integrating parallel in vitro and in vivo studies with hypothesis-based and unbiased approaches, this project will provide deeper insights into the target(s) and/or mechanism(s)-of-action of PZA, the specific microbiologic subpopulations it targets, and a molecular signature of its activity that can be used to facilitate the development of new agents targeting the same pathways as PZA.

Public Health Relevance

Antibiotic resistance is eroding the efficacy of current treatments for tuberculosis, the leading cause of deaths due to a curable infection. This project aims to help develop a replacement for the frontline drug pyrazinamide.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program--Cooperative Agreements (U19)
Project #
5U19AI111143-04
Application #
9310401
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2017-07-01
Budget End
2018-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
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
Bucciol, Giorgia; Moens, Leen; Bosch, Barbara et al. (2018) Lessons learned from the study of human inborn errors of innate immunity. J Allergy Clin Immunol :
Namasivayam, Sivaranjani; Sher, Alan; Glickman, Michael S et al. (2018) The Microbiome and Tuberculosis: Early Evidence for Cross Talk. MBio 9:
Lupoli, Tania J; Vaubourgeix, Julien; Burns-Huang, Kristin et al. (2018) Targeting the Proteostasis Network for Mycobacterial Drug Discovery. ACS Infect Dis 4:478-498
Tiwari, Divya; Park, Sae Woong; Essawy, Maram M et al. (2018) Targeting protein biotinylation enhances tuberculosis chemotherapy. Sci Transl Med 10:
Ehrt, Sabine; Schnappinger, Dirk; Rhee, Kyu Y (2018) Metabolic principles of persistence and pathogenicity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nat Rev Microbiol 16:496-507
Chen, Chao; Gardete, Susana; Jansen, Robert Sander et al. (2018) Verapamil Targets Membrane Energetics in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 62:
Vorkas, Charles Kyriakos; Wipperman, Matthew F; Li, Kelin et al. (2018) Mucosal-associated invariant and ?? T cell subsets respond to initial Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. JCI Insight 3:
Dupnik, K M; Bean, J M; Lee, M H et al. (2018) Blood transcriptomic markers of Mycobacterium tuberculosis load in sputum. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 22:950-958
Isa, Flonza; Collins, Sean; Lee, Myung Hee et al. (2018) Mass Spectrometric Identification of Urinary Biomarkers of Pulmonary Tuberculosis. EBioMedicine 31:157-165
Abel, Laurent; Fellay, Jacques; Haas, David W et al. (2018) Genetics of human susceptibility to active and latent tuberculosis: present knowledge and future perspectives. Lancet Infect Dis 18:e64-e75

Showing the most recent 10 out of 40 publications