New hope for improved TB treatments
Researchers at the University of Southampton have identified new markers of tuberculosis (TB) that may help in the development of new diagnostic tests and treatments.
Published online in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the
study investigated the proteins that are released by a break
down of the lung structure in TB patients. Lung damage causes
both transmission of infection and mortality.
They
found that fragments released by break down of the lung’s
key proteins (collagen and elastin), are increased in the sputum
of patients with TB. They also discovered that one particular
collagen fragment, PIIINP, was elevated in blood samples from
patients with TB.
Dr Paul Elkington, from the
University of Southampton who led the study, believes that these
new markers could be used to screen individuals and halt
transmission between population groups.
He says:
“Tuberculosis continues to kill almost one and a half
million people worldwide and is becoming increasingly resistant
to drugs used to treat it. First-line TB tests and treatments in
the developing world have not changed for over 30 years.
“These lung breakdown products have never been
identified in TB before, and have the potential to be used as
new markers to identify patients with TB and monitor the effect
of new treatments on lung damage. This may permit population
screening to find and treat highly infectious individuals to
break the cycle of transmission, especially in developing world
countries where TB is most prominent.”
The
research was carried out in collaboration with Imperial College
London and in South Africa at the University of Cape Town and
the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV
(K-RITH) in Durban. It was primarily funded by the Wellcome
Trust and K-RITH.
The team are now investigating all
fragments released by lung destruction to develop new test kits
that can be done at the patient’s bedside.
Bill
Bishai, Director of the K-RITH, comments: “This study is a
major step forward towards finding improved tests for diagnosing
TB and for determining whether the TB is improving with therapy
or worsening with therapy as such would be seen when patients
have resistant TB. Improved diagnostic tests are desperately
needed, not only to improve patient care in resource-poor
countries, but also to accelerate clinical trials with new
therapies.”
Source:
University of Southampton
