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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the tuberculosis desk.
health
A statistical model estimated that testing for recent tuberculosis infection could reduce the median number of people needed for a vaccine trial by 4.2- to 6-fold compared with long-lasting IGRA positivity under favourable conditions. The estimates are preprint model results, and the authors say candidate tests still need to be characterised.
health
A medRxiv preprint combining 82 population surveys found that bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB prevalence rose with age across 30 low- and middle-income countries. Notification-to-prevalence ratios fell in older age groups, which the authors say suggests poorer case detection.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports a pooled CRISPRi screen that measured 1,326 pairwise genetic interactions among 51 Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug-target genes. Follow-up experiments found drug synergies involving ATP synthase targets and reported that inhibiting Pks13 potentiated antitubercular agents.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that the Pks12 enzyme helps generate a lipid that shapes the surface and arabinoglycan architecture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The researchers combined analysis of more than 50,000 bacterial isolates with validation in zebrafish and mouse models.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that insertions and deletions in several classes of repeated DNA sequences can change antibiotic susceptibility in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Laboratory reconstruction identified a ppe53 repeat deletion that produced intermediate resistance to isoniazid, rifampicin and streptomycin.
health
A preclinical mouse study found that the investigational tuberculosis regimens PaBQU and DBQU acted more slowly in complex lung lesions than in mice without such lesions. The findings identify a possible factor behind their failure to meet a clinical treatment-shortening target.