Tuberculosis enzyme responsible for lung destruction identified
April 26th, 2011 - 1:38 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Apr 26 (ANI): Scientists have identified a key enzyme responsible for destroying lung tissue in tuberculosis (TB), a finding that could lead to new treatments.
The new research shows that in patients with TB, there is an increase in levels of an enzyme called MMP-1 in their lungs. When the researchers infected human immune cells with TB in the lab, they found that the cells greatly increased production of this enzyme.
Since the mouse version of MMP-1 is not expressed in the lung, the researchers developed a transgenic mouse with human MMP-1 to investigate whether the enzyme causes lung damage in TB. When these mice were infected with TB, MMP-1 levels increased significantly and the infection led to lung damage similar to that seen in humans with TB.
The scientists also found that a drug proven to be safe in humans was effective at suppressing MMP-1 activity driven by TB infection in human cells.
The findings suggest that similar drugs might prevent lung damage in TB patients and help limit the spread of the disease.
The study has been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. (ANI)
- New vaccine strategy tested in mice shows promise against TB - Jan 26, 2011
- Key mechanism of childhood respiratory disease identified - Mar 08, 2011
- TB-drugome may pave way for anti-TB drug discovery - Nov 09, 2010
- Now, genomic marker to identify tuberculosis patient - Aug 30, 2010
- Study shows experimental immune-boosting drug worsens TB in mice - Apr 13, 2010
- Berlin 2010: TB, HIV and Lung Health: From research and innovation to solutions - Nov 02, 2010
- People with diabetes up to 2-3 times higher risk of TB - Sep 07, 2010
- US scientists create HIV-resistant cells - Jul 03, 2010
- Boosting body's immune system may hold key to HIV cure - Feb 04, 2011
- New findings on drug tolerance could help cure TB faster - Mar 04, 2011
- Animal TB 'tracker' created to speed up drug and vaccine studies - Jul 23, 2009
- Promising golden target for new drugs against tuberculosis identified - Nov 17, 2010
- Synthetic compound may lead to drugs to fight pancreatic, lung cancer - Mar 10, 2011
- Enzyme may explain preeclampsia symptoms in pregnant women - Jan 05, 2011
- Scientists find promising new TB vaccine candidate - Mar 19, 2011
Tags: drugs, human cells, human immune cells, journal of clinical investigation, lung damage, lung tissue, lungs, mice, mmp, scientists, tb infection, tb patients, transgenic mouse, tuberculosis, tuberculosis tb