Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Observation | Host-Microbe BiologySterilization by Adaptive Immunity of a Conditionally Persistent Mutant of Mycobacterium tuberculosisThe bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis can enter into a persistent state in which M. tuberculosis can evade host immunity, thereby reducing the effectiveness of current tuberculosis vaccines. Understanding the factors that contribute to persistence would enable the rational design of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMycobacterium tuberculosis MmsA (Rv0753c) Interacts with STING and Blunts the Type I Interferon ResponseIt is unclear how the type I IFN response is regulated by mycobacterial determinants. Here, we characterized the previously unreported role of M. tuberculosis MmsA in immunological regulation of type I IFN response by targeting the central adaptor STING in the DNA sensing pathway. We identified STING-interacting MmsA by coimmunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry-based (...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHeterologous Production of 1-Tuberculosinyladenosine in Mycobacterium kansasii Models Pathoevolution towards the Transcellular Lifestyle of Mycobacterium tuberculosisThis work sheds light on the role of the lipid 1-tuberculosinyladenosine in the evolution of an environmental ancestor to M. tuberculosis. On a larger scale, it reinforces the importance of horizontal gene transfer in bacterial evolution and examines novel models and methods to provide a better understanding of the subtle effects of individual...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionNovel Antimicrobials from Uncultured Bacteria Acting against Mycobacterium tuberculosisDecreasing discovery rates and increasing resistance have underscored the need for novel therapeutic options to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Here, we screen extracts from previously uncultured soil microbes for specific activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, identifying three...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInhibition of Fatty Acid Oxidation Promotes Macrophage Control of Mycobacterium tuberculosisMycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the leading infectious disease killer worldwide. We discovered that intracellular Mtb fails to grow in macrophages in which fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) is blocked. Macrophages treated with FAO inhibitors rapidly generate a burst of mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species, which promotes NADPH oxidase recruitment and autophagy...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMicroRNA-325-3p Facilitates Immune Escape of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through Targeting LNX1 via NEK6 Accumulation to Promote Anti-Apoptotic STAT3 SignalingIntracellular survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis results in bacterial proliferation and the spread of infection in lungs, consequently deteriorating the conditions of tuberculosis (TB) patients. This research discovers a new immune escape pathway of M. tuberculosis by modulating host miR-325-3p...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA CRISPR-Assisted Nonhomologous End-Joining Strategy for Efficient Genome Editing in Mycobacterium tuberculosisThe global health impact of M. tuberculosis necessitates the development of new genetic tools for its manipulation, to facilitate the identification and characterization of novel drug targets and vaccine candidates. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)–CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) genome editing has proven to be a powerful genetic tool...
Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyIntracellular Mycobacterium leprae Utilizes Host Glucose as a Carbon Source in Schwann CellsLeprosy remains a major problem in the world today, particularly affecting the poorest and most disadvantaged sections of society in the least developed countries of the world. The long-term aim of research is to develop new treatments and vaccines, and these aims are currently hampered by our inability to grow the pathogen in axenic culture. In this study, we probed the metabolism of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyFunctionally Overlapping Variants Control Tuberculosis Susceptibility in Collaborative Cross MiceThe variable outcome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection observed in natural populations is difficult to model in genetically homogeneous small-animal models. The newly developed Collaborative Cross (CC) represents a reproducible panel of genetically diverse mice that display a broad range of phenotypic responses to infection. We explored the genetic basis of this...
