Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of preventable deaths accounting for over two million deaths per year. Natural spread of multiple drug resistant (MDR) TB is a major threat to public health. CDC has classified MDR strains of M. tuberculosis (MTB) in Class C, within the list of organisms with potential use in bioterrorism. Discovery of novel anti-mycobacterial drug targets is critically needed to combat these threats, especially the MDR TB. The MTB genome is unusually rich in genes for lipid metabolism. It is becoming increasingly clear that lipid metabolism plays critical roles in TB. The critical steps, that are uniquely required for infection and survival of the pathogens in a dormant state for decades before the pathogens develops active TB when the host becomes immunodeficient, can be ideal targets for novel anti-TB drugs. We postulate that tgs/wes genes (TG synthase/wax ester synthase genes) and lip genes are involved in virulence and in the survival of the pathogen under dormant conditions. We will test this hypothesis. 1) Elucidate the biochemical functions of tgs/wes gene products. a) Characterize the enzymatic activities of the tgs/wes gene products expressed in E. coli. b) Determine the biochemical consequences of disrupting each tgs/wes gene on lipid metabolism. 2) Determine the consequence of tgs/wes gene disruption on host-pathogen interactions, a) Determine whether any molecular changes relevant to induction of TG synthesis can be detected as MTB reaches the hypoxia-induced nonreplicating state in culture b) Determine whether mutants have altered ability to grow in macrophages and trigger cytokine production, c) Determine the virulence, persistence, and the ability of the tgs/wes mutants to go into dormancy in mice and cause infection when the host is immunocompromised. 3) Elucidate the biochemical functions of the lip genes a) Express and characterize the TG hydrolase and thioesterase activities of lip gene products expressed in E. coli. b) Disrupt each lip gene and determine the biochemical consequences. 4) Determine the effect of lip disruptants on host-pathogen interaction, a) Determine the ability of the lip gene disruptants to survive the hypoxia-induced nonreplicating state in culture, b) Determine the effects of lip gene disruption on growth in macrophages and cytokine production. c) Determine the effect of lip gene disruption on virulence, persistence and the ability to undergo dormancy and reactivation in immunocompromised host. 5) Elucidate the biosynthetic mechanisms involved in the production of dimycocerosylphthiocerol (DIM), a known virulence factor. Identification of the unique steps in lipid metabolism critical for the disease will allow a search for novel drugs directed at these targets.
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