Project description:Global control of the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic is seriously threatened by increasing prevalence of drug resistant (DR) M. tuberculosis (MTB) isolates. Many genome-wide studies have identified DR-associated SNPs and investigated their role in DR mechanisms. However, DR in ~30% of isolates has no clear genetic basis. DR mechanisms related to variation in gene/protein expression are known, but not well-studied.
Project description:Monocyte miRNAs govern both protective and pathological responses during tuberculosis through their differential expression and emerged as potent target for biomarker discovery and host-directed therapeutics. Thus, our profound interest is to look at the miRNA profile of sorted monocytes across TB disease spectrum (drug-resistance TB (DR-TB), drug-sensitive TB (DS-TB) and latent TB) and healthy individuals (HC) to understand the underlying pathophysiology and their regulatory mechanism.
Project description:Sequencing was performed to assess the ability of Nanopore direct cDNA and native RNA sequencing to characterise human transcriptomes. Total RNA was extracted from either HAP1 or HEK293 cells, and the polyA+ fraction isolated using oligodT dynabeads. Libraries were prepared using Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) kits according to manufacturers instructions. Samples were then sequenced on ONT R9.4 flow cells to generate fast5 raw reads in the ONT MinKNOW software. Fast5 reads were then base-called using the ONT Albacore software to generate Fastq reads.
Project description:There is a need for better tools to evaluate new or repurposed TB drugs. The whole blood bactericidal activity (WBA) assay has been advocated for this purpose. We investigated whether transcriptional responses in the WBA assay resemble TB responses in vivo, and whether the approach might additionally reveal mechanisms of response. Microarray analysis was performed on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) RNA extracted from whole blood cultures, sputum from TB patients on combination treatment, and drug-free broth cultures
Project description:Efforts to eradicate TB are largely threatened by drug-resistant tuberculosis, particularly, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). It is imperative to find one or more specific biomarkers for diagnosing MDR-TB earlier and declining the incidence. Growing evidences have showed lncRNAs are widely expressed and take part in the genesis and development of many diseases, including tuberculosis. Therefore, to screen the differential lncRNAs among MDR-TB, drug-sensitive tuberculosis(DS-TB) and healthy controls(HCs) is a good strategy to acquire potential biomarkers for MDR-TB diagnosis and partly describe the mechanism of MDR-TB. Here, the present study aimed to investigate the differential expression profile of lncRNAs in serum among patients with MDR-TB ,DS-TB and HCs using lncRNA microarray
Project description:Rapidly increased studies by third-generation sequencing [Pacific Biosciences (Pacbio) and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT)] have been used in all kinds of research areas. Among them, the plant full-length single-molecule transcriptome studies were most used by Pacbio while ONT was rarely used. Therefore, in this study, we developed ONT RNA-sequencing methods in plants. We performed a detailed evaluation of reads from Pacbio and Nanopore PCR cDNA (ONT Pc) sequencing in plants (Arabidopsis), including the characteristics of raw data and identification of transcripts. We aimed to provide a valuable reference for applications of ONT in plant transcriptome analysis.
Project description:The emergence of drug resistance among tuberculosis (TB) patients is often associated with their non-compliance to the length of the chemotherapy, which can reach up to 2 years for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) TB. Drugs that would kill TB faster and would not lead to the development of drug resistance could shorten chemotherapy significantly. In Escherichia coli, the common mechanism of cell death by bactericidal antibiotics is the generation of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction. Since ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is known to drive the Fenton reaction, we tested whether the Fenton reaction could lead to a bactericidal event in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by treating M. tuberculosis cultures with vitamin C. Here, we report that the addition of vitamin C to drug-susceptible, MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis strains results in sterilization of the cultures in vitro. We show that the sterilizing effect of vitamin C on M. tuberculosis was dependent on the production of high ferrous ion levels and reactive oxygen species. Although, this potent sterilizing activity of vitamin C against M. tuberculosis in vitro was not observed in mice, we believe this activity needs further investigation. Comparison of vitamin C treated Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcriptome relative to untreated; Three biological replicates, second is a dye flip
Project description:The emergence of drug resistance among tuberculosis (TB) patients is often associated with their non-compliance to the length of the chemotherapy, which can reach up to 2 years for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) TB. Drugs that would kill TB faster and would not lead to the development of drug resistance could shorten chemotherapy significantly. In Escherichia coli, the common mechanism of cell death by bactericidal antibiotics is the generation of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction. Since ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is known to drive the Fenton reaction, we tested whether the Fenton reaction could lead to a bactericidal event in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by treating M. tuberculosis cultures with vitamin C. Here, we report that the addition of vitamin C to drug-susceptible, MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis strains results in sterilization of the cultures in vitro. We show that the sterilizing effect of vitamin C on M. tuberculosis was dependent on the production of high ferrous ion levels and reactive oxygen species. Although, this potent sterilizing activity of vitamin C against M. tuberculosis in vitro was not observed in mice, we believe this activity needs further investigation.
Project description:The alarming rise of antimicrobial resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis coupled with the shortage of new antibiotics has made tuberculosis (TB) control a global health priority. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit the growth of multi-drug resistant isolates of M. tuberculosis. Repurposing NSAIDs, with known clinical properties and safety records, offers a direct route to clinical trials. Therefore we investigated the novel mechanisms of anti-mycobacterial action of the NSAID, carprofen. Integrative molecular and microbiological approaches revealed that carprofen, a bactericidal drug, inhibited bacterial drug efflux mechanisms. In addition, carprofen restricted mycobacterial biofilm-like growth, highlighting the requirement of efflux-mediated communicative systems for the formation of biofilms. Transcriptome profiling revealed that carprofen likely acts by inhibiting respiration through the disruption of membrane potential, which may explain why spontaneous drug-resistant mutants could not be raised due to the pleiotropic nature of carprofen’s anti-tubercular action. This immunomodulatory drug has the potential to reverse TB antimicrobial resistance by inhibiting drug efflux pumps and biofilm formation, and paves a new chemotherapeutic path for tackling tuberculosis.
Project description:Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the deadliest infectious disorders in the world. To effectively TB manage, an essential step is to gain insight into the lineage of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains and the distribution of drug resistance. Although the Campania region is declared a cluster area for the infection, to contribute to the effort to understand TB evolution and transmission, still poorly known, we have generated a dataset of 159 genomes of MTB strains, from Campania region collected during 2018-2021, obtained from the analysis of whole genome sequence data. The results show that the most frequent MTB lineage is the 4 according for 129 strains (81.11%). Regarding drug resistance, 139 strains (87.4%) were classified as multi susceptible, while the remaining 20 (12.58%) showed drug resistance. Among the drug-resistance strains, 8 were isoniazid-resistant MTB (HR-MTB), 7 were resistant only to one antibiotic (3 were resistant only to ethambutol and 3 isolate to streptomycin while one isolate showed resistance to fluoroquinolones), 4 multidrug-resistant MTB, while only one was classified as pre-extensively drug-resistant MTB (pre-XDR). This dataset expands the existing available knowledge on drug resistance and evolution of MTB, contributing to further TB-related genomics studies to improve the management of TB infection.