Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) and Its Potential Targets: An Investigation into Dormant Phase Pathogens

One-third of the world’s population harbours the latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) with a lifetime risk of reactivation. Although, the treatment of LTBI relies significantly on the first-line therapy, identification of novel drug targets and therapies are the emerging focus for researchers across the globe. The current review provides an insight into the infection, diagnostic methods and epigrammatic explanations of potential molecular targets of dormant phase bacilli. This study also includes current preclinical and clinical aspects of tubercular infections and new approaches in antitubercular drug discovery.

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Trends in diagnostic methods and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in a tertiary care center from 2000 to 2017

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1007/s10096-020-03850-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (7) ◽

pp. 1329-1337

Author(s):

Jonathan W. Uzorka ◽

Dinah L. Duinkerk ◽

Lucia J. M. Kroft ◽

Jaap A. Bakker ◽

Rajen S. R. S. Ramai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Latent Tuberculosis Infection ◽

Care Center ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Latent Tuberculosis ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Tuberculosis Infection ◽

Tertiary Care Center

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PREDICTING THE RISK OF LOCAL TUBERCULOSIS IN CHILDREN WITH LATENT TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION

Ukrainian Pulmonology Journal ◽

10.31215/2306-4927-2021-29-4-5-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 5-9

Author(s):

O. I. Bilogortseva ◽

◽

Y. I. Dotsenko ◽

O. Y. Sivachenko ◽

L. V. Arefyeva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Latent Tuberculosis Infection ◽

Latent Tuberculosis ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Tuberculosis Infection ◽

Mantoux Test ◽

Local Form ◽

Additional Tool ◽

Prognosis Model ◽

Tuberculosis In Children

O. I. Bilogortseva, Y. I. Dotsenko, O. Y. Sivachenko, L. V. Arefyeva, V. V. Gorbenko, V. A. Ovsyanitskaya Abstract Children with LTBI represent a large risk group for reactivation of the tuberculosis process at any time. The available diagnostic methods do not answer the question regarding the risk of local TB formation in them. Aim: to present a model for predicting the risk of developing localized tuberculosis (TB) in children with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Materials and methods: 275 children with LTBI and 116 children with newly diagnosed TB were examined. After ranking 57 clinical signs and risk factors, the most significant of them were identified and their diagnostic coefficients (DC) were determined. The essence of the model is to calculate DCs with further calculation of their sum, based on the numerical value of which it is possible to predict a low and high risk of developing a local form of TB in children with LTBI. Results: The effectiveness of the prognosis model was confirmed by the results of observation of 228 children with LTBI. Using this model, it is possible to predict the low and high risk of developing localized TB in children with LTBI. The values of the diagnostic coefficients can independently predict the course of LTBI in a child. Conclusions: The use of the proposed prognosis model increases the accuracy of predicting the risk of developing a local form of tuberculosis in children with latent tuberculosis infection by 29.4%, compared with the Mantoux test, and to determine the contingents that need additional examination, preventive treatment and dynamic observation by a pediatric phthisiatrician in order to prevent the progression of LTBI into active tuberculosis. In conditions of quarantine and limited access of patients to medical services, the proposed model for predicting the risk of developing localized TB in children with LTBI can serve as an additional tool in the practice of a pediatric phthisiatrician. Key words: children, latent tuberculosis infection, predicting the risk

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Understanding Mass Spectrometry-based Global Mycobacterial Lipidomics

Current Molecular Medicine ◽

10.2174/1566524020666200206120840 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 607-623

Author(s):

Zeeshan Fatima ◽

Shiv Nandan ◽

Saif Hameed

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Drug Targets ◽

Infectious Agent ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Detection Methods ◽

Novel Drug ◽

Significant Attention ◽

Novel Drug Targets

: Tuberculosis (TB) is the foremost cause of mortality from single infectious agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Current therapeutic regimes suffer from several problems, including side effects, costs and emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR). Moreover, conventional diagnostic methods are either too slow, or lack accurate and robust biomarkers. Under such circumstances, identification of rapid metabolite based biomarkers as novel drug targets could be a potential approach to circumvent MDR. In the era of “OMIC” sciences, lipidomics has gained significant attention to unravel the complexity of lipid-loaded Mycobacterium species. Lipidomics is a subbranch of metabolomics with extreme atomic diversity between the metabolites. There is no single principle on which the metabolite diversity can be defined, unlike other biomolecules viz. nucleic acid, proteins or carbohydrates. MTB encodes 10% of the genome for lipid metabolism and lipids account for 60% of its dry weight. Mycobacterium harbor a wide spectra of lipid repertoire ranging from highly apolar to highly polar lipids, adding complexity to their identification and analysis. Compared to targeted approaches, untargeted or global lipidomics of MTB is still more challenging. This review describes recent advances in lipidomics technology with regard to chromatography, detection methods and assessment on the existing mass spectrometry-based lipidomics tools to study the untargeted or global MTB lipidomics. It also identifies the limitations associated with present technologies as well as explores solutions to practical challenges concurrent with the establishment of MTB lipidome. Together we endorse that the emerging tools of lipidomics have provided a broader vision to comprehend the role of lipid molecules in MTB pathogenesis and the need for further improvements.

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