BiotechMashup

(Institut Pasteur Korea) Researchers at the Pasteur Institutes in Seoul and Paris, and at IPBS in Toulouse, have identified ten factors that help Mycobacterium tuberculosis avoid destruction inside host cell phagosomes. Two of the genes identified by high-throughput visual screening of 11,000 mutant mycobacteria are involved in the synthesis of acyltrehalose-containing glycolipids. These glycolipids prevent maturation of the host cell phagosome and may be a target for novel antimycobacterial drugs. The work is published on Sept. 9, 2010, in PLoS Pathogens.

by Susanne Herbst, Ulrich E. Schaible, Bianca E. Schneider

by Susanne Herbst, Ulrich E. Schaible, Bianca E. Schneider

New tools are needed to study the intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), to facilitate new drug discovery and vaccine development.

by Felix Mba Medie, Iskandar Ben Salah, Bernard Henrissat, Didier Raoult, Michel Drancourt
Background Most environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria have been demonstrated to invade amoebal trophozoites and cysts, but such relationships are largely unknown for members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. An environmental source has been proposed for the animal Mycobacterium bovis and the human Mycobacterium canettii.

Infectious diseases currently cause about one-third of all human deaths worldwide, more than all forms of cancer combined. Advances in cell biology and microbial genetics have greatly enhanced understanding of the cause and mechanisms of infectious diseases. Researchers have now found a way in which intracellular pathogens exploit the biological attributes of their hosts in order to escape destruction.

by Assunta Pelosi, Danielle Smith, Rajini Brammananth, Agnieszka Topolska, Helen Billman-Jacobe, Phillip Nagley, Paul K. Crellin, Ross L. Coppel

by Assunta Pelosi, Danielle Smith, Rajini Brammananth, Agnieszka Topolska, Helen Billman-Jacobe, Phillip Nagley, Paul K. Crellin, Ross L. Coppel

by Assunta Pelosi, Danielle Smith, Rajini Brammananth, Agnieszka Topolska, Helen Billman-Jacobe, Phillip Nagley, Paul K. Crellin, Ross L. Coppel