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Protein discovery could unlock the secret to better TB treatment
February 28, 2005UCL scientists have found a protein that could unlock the secret to quicker, more effective treatment of TB by waking TB bacteria in the body. Once the TB bacteria are active again, the disease becomes treatable using common drugs like antibiotics. Scientists believe that uncovering the molecular structure of this protein will lead the way to designing drugs which enable treatment of dormant and multidrug resistant TB.
In England and Wales around 400 people die each year from the disease. The top challenge for TB control in the European region is multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Eight per cent of the bacteria causing TB in patients are resistant to one or more drugs and one per cent show multidrug resistance. Left untreated, a person with infectious TB of the lungs infects around 10 to 15 people every year.
In a study published on 1st March 2005 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, a combined team discovered the structure of a protein known as resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf). Five versions of the Rpf protein exist in TB bacteria. The paper's unveiling of the molecular structure of Rpf could be crucial to the treatment of TB in the future.
Dr John Ward, Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCL, said: "The discovery of Rpf in the TB bacteria could allow the development of methods to 'wake-up' all dormant bacteria in a patient allowing antibiotics to kill the bacteria and cure the disease."
The team includes Prof Brian Henderson at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute, Nicholas Keep from Birkbeck, University of London, and John Ward at UCL as well as researchers from INSERM Montpellier.
University College London - UCL
Dr John Ward, Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCL, said: "The discovery of Rpf in the TB bacteria could allow the development of methods to 'wake-up' all dormant bacteria in a patient allowing antibiotics to kill the bacteria and cure the disease."
The team includes Prof Brian Henderson at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute, Nicholas Keep from Birkbeck, University of London, and John Ward at UCL as well as researchers from INSERM Montpellier.
University College London - UCL
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A painstaking analysis of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising from duplicate genes.
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Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a theoretical model that informs the understanding of evolution and determines how quickly an organism will evolve using a catalogue of "evolutionary speed limits."
Global challenges and opportunities in fighting HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases
Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs.
Progress made on group B streptococcus vaccine
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Breakthrough in fight against Hendra virus
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USU scientists report major advance in human antibody therapy against deadly Nipah virus
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Bacteria 'launch a shield' to resist attack
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