![Suffocating Persistent TB]()
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s leading causes of mortality, associated with 1.6 million deaths in 2017. Antibiotics help eliminate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterial species that causes TB. But a subpopulation of Mtb resists antibiotic treatment, remaining dormant until all too often reviving to cause active disease. Michael Berney, Ph.D., received a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to determine if respiration inhibitors can eliminate Mtb persisters—suffocating them by inhibiting two critical enzymes (cytochrome bc1:aa3 and cytochrome bd oxidase) in Mtb’s respiration pathway. He will study the role of these enzymes during TB pathogenesis and test combinations of existing and novel enzymatic inhibitors in vitro and in animal models of TB. Dr. Berney will also develop new inhibitors in collaboration with Dr. Kevin Pethe (Nanyang Technical University, Singapore) and Dr. Garrett Moraski (Montana State University). The findings may enhance the effectiveness of current TB treatments and reduce fatalities. Dr. Berney is an assistant professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein. (1R01AI139465-01A1)
Posted on: Wednesday, January 16, 2019