Dissecting the TB Virulence Pathway

UAB Research Foundation
posted on 10/31/2011

Globally, tuberculosis (Mtb) is the second leading killer of adults, accounting for over two million deaths per year. Contributing to the high number of deaths is the lack of an effective therapy; the current regimen is over 40 years old and requires strict patient compliance over a six-to-nine month period. Therefore, development of more effective drugs is desperately needed. To address these concerns, Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have begun dissecting virulence pathways of Mtb, which are mediated by networks of interacting proteins, using a unique technology that facilitates the study of protein-protein interactions in vivo. Elucidation of these interactions has enabled UAB's researchers to identify promising drug candidates which may improve therapy and reduce the time-course for treatment of this devastating disease.

Suggested Uses

Platform assay for drug development

Advantages

Validated platform assay designed for high-throughput screening with capabilities to identify and characterize novel virulence pathways involved in persistence and pathogenesis of Mtb
Provides three promising new drug candidates which disrupt protein components of the Cfp-10 secretory pathway

Innovation Details

Detailed Description

UAB’s researchers have developed a simple and rapid assay to study protein-protein interactions in mycobacteria. This in vivo assay, termed mycobacterial protein fragment complementation (M-PFC), mimics the cellular environment of Mtb allowing UAB’s researchers to identify protein-protein interactions necessary for Mtb virulence. This system presents a major advance in the study of the disease and has enabled UAB’s researchers to identify and characterize mycobacterium protein-protein interactions that may have utility in the development of targeted therapies. Using this assay as a platform for high-throughput drug screening, UAB’s researchers have identified several classes of compounds that disrupt protein-protein association in mycobacteria and may prove useful for the treatment of tuberculosis.

File Number: U2006-0038, U2006-0073 TB Therapeutics

Web site: http://www.uab.edu/uabrf

Disease: Infectious Diseases

Other Information:

MANAGING LICENSING ASSOCIATE

LEONA FITZMAURICE, PH.D.

fitzmaur@uab.edu (205) 934-7868

IP PROTECTION

U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 12/281,082, PCT filed March 1, 2007.

Australian, Canadian, European, Japanese and New Zealand patent applications, PCT filed March 1, 2007.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Andries Steyn, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology, UAB.