FTT World
Mar 28, 20232 min
Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious infectious disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In recent years, drug resistance has become a significant challenge in the treatment of TB, and there is an urgent need to develop new drugs to target the bacterium that causes the disease. Now, researchers from the University of Surrey have made an important discovery that could help us better understand how the bacterium survives and causes disease.
The Study
The Surrey study used a technology called fluxomics to investigate how cells process nitrogen, which is essential for the survival of the bacterium that causes TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In the most comprehensive study of its kind, the researchers tracked both carbon and nitrogen atoms within Mtb cells for the first time, using a new fluxomic tool called Bayesian 13C15N-metabolic flux analysis. They then identified the crucial role that the amino acid glutamate plays within the nitrogen metabolism in Mtb, providing an important target for new drug development.
Implications for TB Treatment
The discovery of the important role of nitrogen metabolism in Mtb survival could pave the way for new drug treatments for TB. In particular, targeting the amino acid glutamate could disrupt the nitrogen metabolism and curb the spread of the disease. The research team hopes that this new understanding of nitrogen metabolism will lead to the development of more effective drugs to tackle TB.
Commentary from the Research Team
Dr. Khushboo Borah Slater, co-author of the study and research fellow from the University of Surrey, emphasized the urgent need for new drugs to treat TB, given the growing threat of drug resistance. She stated that "using drugs to target the nitrogen metabolism could be a novel way to disrupt how the bacterium survives, multiplies and spreads inside the human host cell."
Professor Johnjoe McFadden, co-author of the study from the University of Surrey, explained that the technology they developed will play a crucial role in learning more about the carbon and nitrogen metabolisms in any living organisms, and could pave the way for more effective drug treatments being created for other human diseases.
Journal Information: Khushboo Borah Slater et al, One‐shot 13 C 15 N ‐metabolic flux analysis for simultaneous quantification of carbon and nitrogen flux, Molecular Systems Biology (2023). DOI: 10.15252/msb.202211099