TUBERCULOSIS: Possible Persistence Switch for Tuberculosis

September 21st, 2010
 Possible Persistence Switch for Tuberculosis Found: Computer Model Finds Probable Genetic Mechanism for TB Dormancy
The bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can transition into a dormant state to ward off attacks from antibiotics and the immune system. A new report from Igoshin and Tiwari in this month's issue of Physical Biology examines a network of genes that may make this possible. A computer model of the network showed it can act as a "persistence" switch that toggles the organism from a fast-growing to a slow-growing state.
"The molecular mechanisms that allow Mycobacterium tuberculosis to switch into this slow-growing, persistent state have been associated with genes that are activated when the microorganism is under stress," said Igoshin, senior author of the study and an assistant professor in bioengineering at Rice.
Tiwari, lead author of the study and a graduate student in Igoshin's lab, said, "We examined a stress-response network of genes that are found in both the TB bacterium and other closely related mycobacteria. We analyzed the role of multiple feedback loops in this network, and were eventually able to identify an ultrasensitive mechanism that works in combination with the feedback loops to form a switch. This switch can possibly activate transition to the persistent state."
The study was a collaborative effort between Igoshin's laboratory at Rice's BioScience Research Collaborative and the research groups of Gabor Balazsi at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Maria Laura Gennaro at the Public Health Research Institute of the New Jersey Medical School.
Scientists have long known that the TB bacterium has the ability to "hunker down" and go dormant under stressful conditions. Previous studies have confirmed that both the slow-growing and fast-growing forms of the bacteria have identical genes.
"The fact that the same organism can exist in two states at the same time in the same environment raises many questions," Igoshin said. "What is the basis for this bistability? What are the environmental cues that activate the switch?"
Other bacteria can switch between stable states as well, but Mycobacterium tuberculosis' ability to make this transition is one reason TB is such a widespread disease. As much as 30 percent of the world's population is believed to be infected with TB, which causes about 2 million deaths every year.
http://www.sciencemagnews.com/possible-persistence-switch-for-tuberculosis-found-computer-model-finds-probable-genetic-mechanism-for-tb-dormancy.html