Image: Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 on Pix4free
Prof Admire Dube was part of the research team investigating an innovative treatment to combat TB resistance.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health challenge, made worse by the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. As TB bacteria become increasingly resistant to traditional treatments, researchers are exploring innovative approaches to combat the disease. On 24 March it is World TB Day, and according to the World Health Organisation, TB was the cause of 1.25 million deaths in 2023.
Prof Admire Dube, an accomplished academic at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), is investigating a new approach to treating TB using specially designed nanoparticles. He led a scientific research team - comprising researchers from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, and the University at Buffalo, USA - to make tiny particles (nanoparticles) that could modulate the immune system out of a safe material called PLGA (poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid) and curdlan and investigate their effect in eradicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bug that causes TB, in animals. Curdlan is a natural sugar (polysaccharide) made by bacteria. It's called a β-1,3-glucan, which means it’s a chain of glucose (sugar) molecules linked in a specific way.
“Firstly, the team made the nanoparticles and tested them on immune cells (macrophages) infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We found that these particles could trigger autophagy (a process where the cells clean out bacteria). They confirmed the nanoparticles successfully activated the cells to fight the bacteria,” said Prof Dube - a professor of pharmaceutical nanotechnology at the UWC School of Pharmacy and the Deputy Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
The team then infected mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis to model an infection. The mice were treated with the nanoparticles over six weeks. Over the duration of the treatment, they checked the mice's lungs and spleens to count the amount of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria left. They also examined the mice’s immune response and checked if the treatment was safe. The nanoparticles reduced the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in the mice's lungs.
The treatment was safe and helped balance the immune system to fight the infection. This new approach uses the body’s defenses instead of drugs to fight the infection. If successful in humans, this could lead to a new treatment for TB and other infections that do not rely on antibiotics.
The research can be found HERE
LISTEN: Prof Admire Dube speaks about using nanoparticles to combat Tuberculosis (TB)
Prof Admire Dube was part of the research team investigating an innovative treatment to combat TB resistance.Prof Admire Dube, an accomplished academic at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), is investigating a new approach to treating TB using specially designed nanoparticles. He led a scientific research team - comprising researchers from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, and the University at Buffalo, USA - to make tiny particles (nanoparticles) that could modulate the immune system out of a safe material called PLGA (poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid) and curdlan and investigate their effect in eradicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bug that causes TB, in animals. Curdlan is a natural sugar (polysaccharide) made by bacteria. It's called a β-1,3-glucan, which means it’s a chain of glucose (sugar) molecules linked in a specific way.
“Firstly, the team made the nanoparticles and tested them on immune cells (macrophages) infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We found that these particles could trigger autophagy (a process where the cells clean out bacteria). They confirmed the nanoparticles successfully activated the cells to fight the bacteria,” said Prof Dube - a professor of pharmaceutical nanotechnology at the UWC School of Pharmacy and the Deputy Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
The team then infected mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis to model an infection. The mice were treated with the nanoparticles over six weeks. Over the duration of the treatment, they checked the mice's lungs and spleens to count the amount of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria left. They also examined the mice’s immune response and checked if the treatment was safe. The nanoparticles reduced the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in the mice's lungs.
The treatment was safe and helped balance the immune system to fight the infection. This new approach uses the body’s defenses instead of drugs to fight the infection. If successful in humans, this could lead to a new treatment for TB and other infections that do not rely on antibiotics.
The research can be found HERE
LISTEN: Prof Admire Dube speaks about using nanoparticles to combat Tuberculosis (TB)
