Study opens new avenue in quest to develop TB vaccine
A team of scientists led by the University of Southampton has taken an important step forward in research efforts that could one day lead to an effective vaccine against the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
Tuberculosis (TB) kills more people than any other infection,
with an estimated 1.7 million people worldwide dying from it
every year. The airborne disease is becoming increasingly
resistant to antibiotics, but despite 20 years of intense global
efforts no effective vaccine has been developed.
Recent
efforts have focused on the response of conventional human T
cells (a type of white blood cell essential to fighting off
infection) to protein fragments found in Mycobacterium
tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria that causes TB.
Now
researchers from the universities of Southampton and Bangor, in
partnership with Public Health England (PHE) Porton, have shown
that certain lipids (fatty substances essential to cell
structure that are found in abundance in Mtb) could trigger an
immune response from other, ‘unconventional’, types
of T cells.
In a new study published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, the team showed that a group of lipids called mycolic acids
– a major component of the Mtb cellular envelope –
could be key to determining an immune response.
The
study showed that the geometry, chemical make-up and movement of
the mycolic acids’ long lipid ‘tails’ when
they are embedded in a type of human protein called CD1b
determines the response of the body’s unconventional T
cells.
Lead author Dr Salah Mansour, of the
University of Southampton, said: “This is an exciting
discovery with potential therapeutic implications for TB
patients. We have shown that synthetic lipids related to those
in the cell wall of Mtb are selectively targeted by T-cells.
“Our
findings could help drive advances in vaccine development
through the intelligent design of the lipid components of future
TB vaccines.”
The study combined cellular
immunology with synthetic and computational chemistry, and used
synthetic lipids developed at Bangor University’s School
of Chemistry.
Dr Juma’a Al Dulayymi, of Bangor
University, added: “This is a very exciting result of a
collaboration between organic chemists and immunologists which
could provide a real opportunity for improved protection against
TB.”
The work is the fruit of a collaboration
between a Southampton team consisting of immunologists,
computational chemists and infection specialists, researchers
from Bangor University led by Professor Mark Baird, and
scientists from PHE Porton led by Dr Sally Sharpe.
The
work was funded by Public Health England.
Source:
University of Southampton
