New drugs and vaccines for drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections.
Tuberculosis remains the most common cause of death due to a single infective organism. Despite the availability of a vaccine and chemotherapeutic options, the global disease burden remains relatively unaffected. The ability of the mycobacterial etiological agents to adopt a semidormant, phenotypically drug-resistant state requires that chemotherapy is both complex and lengthy. The emergence of drug resistance has raised the possibility of virtually untreatable tuberculosis. Furthermore, the currently used bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine has had mixed success in protecting susceptible populations. Given this backdrop, the need for novel anti-infectives and more effective vaccines is clearly evident. Recent progress, described herein, has seen the development and entry into clinical trials of several new drugs and vaccine candidates.
Dover
Lynn G
LG
Senior Lecturer, Biomolecular and Biomedical Research Centre, School of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK. lynn.dover@unn.ac.uk
Bhatt
Apoorva
A
Bhowruth
Veemal
V
Willcox
Benjamin E
BE
Besra
Gurdyal S
GS
D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control*
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines