The successful treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis requires clarification in advance as to which antibiotics the pathogens are resistant to. Classic testing in the laboratory is very time-consuming and delays the start of therapy. Researchers from the Research Center Borstel, the Leibniz Lung Center, and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have now prepared a catalogue of all mutations in the genome of tuberculosis bacteria and on the basis of a genome sequencing can quickly and cheaply predict which medicines are most effective for tuberculosis treatment. The results of this work were published in the professional journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The treatment of tuberculosis (TB) is long, demanding, and expensive. In particular, the ever increasing emergence of resistant tuberculosis bacteria requires a lot of patience: In these cases, the WHO generally recommends a standard treatment duration of at least 18 months, as there are no reliable biomarkers for an early termination. Under the leadership of the DZIF scientists at the Research Center Borstel, six years of research have now succeeded in identifying a biomarker that points to an individual end of therapy based on the activity of 22 genes. In many cases, this probably allows the treatment to be shortened safely.

Tuberculosis treatment still entails the intake several antibiotics over a period of many months and is torturous for many patients. The pathogen’s increasing multidrug resistance additionally complicates this lengthy treatment, and side effects frequently lead to a discontinuation of treatment and high mortality rates. Developing alternative treatment approaches is therefore of critical importance. DZIF scientists from the University Hospital Cologne are working on an immunotherapy that supports antibiotic treatment. In their current study, they were able to identify a new target protein in human immune cells, which can inhibit the bacteria’s destructive effects.