Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Species: Friend or foe in the tuberculosis fight
We have read with great joy the letter to the editor, written by Yew et al., which analyzes and compares several recent articles [1 –4] showing the intimate relationship between Mycobacterium tuberculosis' (Mtb) redox status - mainly due to the presence of Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Species (RNOS) - and tubercular drug efficacy. Given the fact that tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease for which there is a limited arsen al of effective drugs, it is crucial to find new drugs or to somehow enhance pre-existing treatments. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - October 10, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Jordana Galizia, Marcelo A. Mart í Tags: Reply to Letter to the Editor Source Type: research

A new model for chronic and reactivation tuberculosis: Infection with genetically attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice with polar susceptibility
TB infection in mice develops relatively rapidly which interferes with experimental dissection of immune responses and lung pathology features that differ between genetically susceptible and resistant hosts. Earlier we have shown that the M. tuberculosis strain lacking four of five Rpf genes ( ΔACDE) is seriously attenuated for growth in vivo. Using this strain, we assessed key parameters of lung pathology, immune and inflammatory responses in chronic and reactivation TB infections in highly susceptible I/St and more resistant B6 mice. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - October 9, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tatiana K. Kondratieva, Marina A. Kapina, Elvira I. Rubakova, Elena V. Kondratieva, Boris V. Nikonenko, Konstantin B. Majorov, Alexander V. Dyatlov, Irina A. Linge, Alexander S. Apt Tags: Immunological Aspects Source Type: research

Can modulating redox status help to enhance antituberculosis drug efficacy?
We read with great interest the recently published article regarding the evaluation of effects of nitroxyl donors on mycobacteria [1]. Nitroxyl (HNO) furnishes an exemplary source of nitrosative stress, through providing reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (RNOS). In this very important study, nitroxyl, even at sub-inhibitory concentrations could helpfully boost the antimycobacterial activities of rifampicin, kanamycin and delamanid, but its administration only provided antagonism against the activities of isoniazid and ethambutol. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - October 9, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Wing Wai Yew, Kwok Chiu Chang, Denise P. Chan, Ying Zhang Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research

New assay to diagnose and differentiate between Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and nontuberculous mycobacteria
The purpose of the present study was to create a real-time PCR test system allowing simultaneous detection of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) both in culture and sputum. NTM cultures (18 strains, 18 species), MTBC cultures (16 strains, 2 species) and non-mycobacterial microorganisms from the collection of the Central Research TB Institute (CTRI) were used for the preliminary evaluation of the test system. 301 NTM cultures from patients with mycobacteriosis were used to assess the sensitivity of the developed test system. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - October 8, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Vera V. Ustinova, Tatiana G. Smirnova, Dmitry G. Sochivko, Dmitry A. Varlamov, Elena E. Larionova, Sofya N. Andreevskaya, Irina Yu. Andrievskaya, Ekaterina A. Kiseleva, Larisa N. Chernousova, Atadzhan Ergeshov Tags: Diagnostics Source Type: research

Letter to the Editor
In the recent article “Assessment of tuberculosis contact investigation in Shanghai, China: An 8-year cohort study,” Jiang and colleagues assessed the yield of TB contact tracing and its role in active case finding [1]. Their conclusions state that familial contacts were more likely to acquire TB from the index, whil e most non-familial contacts were infected from sources in the community, indicating a need to prioritize familial contacts in future TB contact investigations in China. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - October 5, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Lauren A. Saag, Peter F. Rebeiro Source Type: research

Detailed analysis of potential household transmission events of tuberculosis in the city of Belem, Brazil
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease with a higher risk for infection and disease among household contacts (HHC). Here, we report a molecular epidemiology-based approach to study disease transmission and the genetic characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains among HHC in the city of Belem, the capital of the state of Para in north Brazil. The study included 63  TB patients belonging to 26 HHC groups (HHC1 to HHC26). Spoligotyping and 24-loci Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit - Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (MIRU-VNTR) revealed indistinguishable bacterial genotypes among 26 patients in 1...
Source: Tuberculosis - October 3, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Emilyn Costa Concei ção, Arthur Emil dos Santos Guimarães, Maria Luíza Lopes, Ismari Perini Furlaneto, Yan Corrêa Rodrigues, Marília Lima da Conceição, Wandyra Araújo Barros, Ninarosa Calzavara Cardoso, Abhinav Sharma, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Cos Tags: Opinion Source Type: research

DNA markers for tuberculosis diagnosis
Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), is an infectious disease with more than 10.4 million cases and 1.7 million deaths reported worldwide in 2016. The classical methods for detection and differentiation of mycobacteria are: acid-fast microscopy (Ziehl-Neelsen staining), culture, and biochemical methods. However, the microbial phenotypic characterization is time-consuming and laborious. Thus, fast, easy, and sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have been developed based on specific DNA markers, which are commercially available for TB diagnosis. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - October 1, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Kai Ling Chin, Maria E. Sarmiento, Mohd Nor Norazmi, Armando Acosta Tags: Review Source Type: research

Building capacity for advances in tuberculosis research; proceedings of the third RePORT international meeting
RePORT International is a global network of research sites in India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, China, and the Philippines dedicated to collaborative tuberculosis research in the context of HIV. A standardized research protocol (the Common Protocol) guides the enrollment of participants with active pulmonary tuberculosis and contacts into observational cohorts. The establishment of harmonized clinical data and bio-repositories will allow cutting-edge, large-scale advances in the understanding of tuberculosis, including identification of novel biomarkers for progression to active tuberculosis and relapse after treatme...
Source: Tuberculosis - October 1, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Yuri F. van der Heijden, Fareed Abdullah, Bruno B. Andrade, Jason R. Andrews, Devasahayam J. Christopher, Julio Croda, Heather Ewing, David W. Haas, Mark Hatherill, C. Robert Horsburgh, Vidya Mave, Helder I. Nakaya, Valeria Rolla, Sudha Srinivasan, Retna Tags: Review Source Type: research

Cell death at the cross roads of host-pathogen interaction in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be the leading cause of death by any single infectious agent, accounting for around 1.7 million annual deaths globally, despite several interventions and support programs by national and international agencies. With the development of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), there has been a paradigm shift in TB research towards host-directed therapy. The potential targets include the interactions between host and bacterial proteins that are crucial for pathogenesis. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - September 28, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Krishnaveni Mohareer, Suman Asalla, Sharmistha Banerjee Tags: Review Source Type: research

Systematic neglect of men as a key population in tuberculosis
Leaders in the global tuberculosis (TB) response tell us that the disease has “particularly severe consequences for women” [1], that “they [women] are drastically and disproportionately affected” [2] p. 1), and that “it is essential [to consider] the needs of key affected women and girls” [3] p. 8). When discussing gender and TB, other international and regional p olicy, funding, and advocacy groups share this near exclusive focus on the needs of women and girls. However this emphasis runs counter to a wealth of evidence, with decades of data consistently indicating that men have a higher burden of TB disease, ...
Source: Tuberculosis - September 27, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Katherine C. Horton, Richard G. White, Rein M.G.J. Houben Source Type: research

Validation of the FluoroType ® MTBDR assay using respiratory and lymph node samples
This study aimed to validate a new molecular diagnostic test, the FluoroType ® MTBDR. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - September 18, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Carsten Haasis, Jan Rupp, S önke Andres, Birte Schlüter, Margrit Kernbach, Doris Hillemann, Katharina Kranzer Source Type: research

Chemical classes targeting energy supplying GyrB domain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is contagious in nature and immunocompromised patients have a higher probability of developing TB. The occurrence of drug resistance, has led to serious health concerns in the management of TB. In order to combat resistant tuberculosis there is an urgent need of identifying new drug targets and new drug combinations for the effective management and reduction in the duration of TB treatment. Targeting DNA gyrase that is involved in bacterial replication cycle, provides one rationale approach. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - September 7, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Aanchal Kashyap, Pankaj Kumar Singh, Om Silakari Tags: Review Source Type: research

Comparative evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF assay with multiplex polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis
Rapid and specific diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is of paramount importance to decrease morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of Xpert MTB/RIF assay (GXpert) and multiplex PCR (MPCR) using three targets (IS6110, MPB64 and protein B) for diagnosing tuberculous meningitis. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - September 6, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Kusum Sharma, Megha Sharma, Lokesh Chaudhary, Manish Modi, Manoj Goyal, Navneet Sharma, Aman Sharma, Anumiti Jain, Deba Prasad Dhibar, Kajal Jain, Niranjan Khandelwal, Pallab Ray, Vivel Lal, Max Salfinger Tags: Diagnostics Source Type: research

In Memoriam Dr. Ian M. Orme (1952 – 2018)
The tuberculosis research community mourns the loss of the well-known tuberculosis immunologist Dr. Ian Michael Orme, age 65, who died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday, June 19, 2018, while at his summer home in Onchiota, New York, shortly after apparent recovery from a heart attack. He is survived by his wife Eileen Orme (nee Aquavella), R.N., and his two sons, Joseph Allen Michael Orme and Robert James Steven Orme. (Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - September 1, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Patrick J. Brennan Source Type: research

Editorial Board
(Source: Tuberculosis)
Source: Tuberculosis - September 1, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research