The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Einstein researchers find potential new drugs for tuberculosis

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have synthesized chemicals that are up to 10 times more effective than isoniazid, the leading anti-tuberculosis drug. The finding could lead to badly needed new drugs for combating tuberculosis bacteria, which each year kill an estimated 2.4 million people worldwide. The study appears in the March issue of Chemistry & Biology.

One of the chemicals, 2-HA, was found to be four times more lethal than isoniazid against the bacteria, while the other, 2-OA, proved 10 times more effective. These chemically similar drugs don't appear to harm higher organisms, so they could probably be used against TB bacteria without risk to patients.

"Drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis is a worldwide problem, particularly in people with weakened immune systems such as those infected with HIV," notes senior author Dr. William Jacobs, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Einstein, as well as professor of microbiology & immunology and molecular genetics. "So we urgently need to develop new and more effective antituberculosis drugs."

Isoniazid, today's first-line anti-TB drug, stops TB bacteria from forming mycolic acid, a key building block for their cell walls. It does the job by targeting an enzyme called InhA. Trying to improve upon isoniazid, the Einstein researchers synthesized more than a dozen chemical "decoys" for InhA to latch onto, to prevent the enzyme from catalyzing its normal cell-wall-building reaction. Two of these decoy chemicals, 2-HA and 2-OA, proved much more potent than isoniazid at killing the bacteria--but not in the way the researchers expected.

"We were surprised to find that 2-HA and 2-OA were actually being metabolized in mycobacteria into two different drugs, each of which inhibits a different biochemical pathway," says Dr. Catherine Vilchze, a study co-author in Dr. Jacobs' laboratory. "The pathways that they block - fatty acid and my
'"/>

Contact: Karen Gardner
kgardner@aecom.yu.edu
718-430-3101
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
24-Mar-2006


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. In a first, Einstein scientists discover the dynamics of transcription in living mammalian cells
2. Einstein researchers prototype vaccine could provide improved protection against tuberculosis
3. Einstein researchers discover radiation-eating fungi
4. Einsteins Dr. Vern Schramm elected to the National Academy of Sciences
5. Einstein researchers discover how a key dietary vitamin is absorbed
6. NCI funds Einstein and U. Albany NanoCollege to make worlds smallest cancer detection device
7. Team at CNSE and Einstein receive grant to develop worlds smallest cancer detection device
8. Einstein researchers demonstrate a novel approach to treating AIDS
9. Einsteins Dr. E. Richard Stanley receives 2006 E. Donnall Thomas Prize
10. Einstein researchers find key to unlocking worlds deadliest malaria parasite
11. Findings by Einstein scientists reveal possible strategy against obesity, diabetes and infertility

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Einstein researchers find potential new drugs for tuberculosis

(Date:11/24/2009)... NEW YORK (November 24, 2009) -- The Wildlife...rt revealing that the last remaining population of... due to the rising tide of poaching and habitat lo...inform Russian officials of what needs to be done ...ggest cat. , The report was release...
(Date:11/24/2009)... Md. (November 24, 2009) New research on bacteria...osystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, su...es as markers for monitoring climate change in the...the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scienc...s in the six rivers shifted synchronously over tim...
(Date:11/23/2009)..., D.C. The community-associated strain of the dea...istant to most common antibioticsposes a far great...ng its way into hospitals, according to a study in...es . , The new threat is easily picked up in fi...d has increased the overall burden of MRSA within ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Report shows dramatic decline in Siberian tigers 2Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers 2New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients 2LANL Roadrunner simulates nanoscale material failure 14658 1LANL Roadrunner simulates nanoscale material failure 14658 2AULs Statement on New House Health Care Bill 60363 1Smart Snacking for Living With Diabetes 60359 1Smart Snacking for Living With Diabetes 60359 2Smart Snacking for Living With Diabetes 60359 3
(Date:11/24/2009)...celand,November24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--deCODE,ge...eceivednoticefrom,theNasdaqStockMarketthattradingi...er30,2009andaForm25-NSEwillbefiledwiththe,Securiti...monstock,fromlistingonNasdaq,unlessthecompanyfiles...companyhasfiledsuchanappeal,which,willstaythesuspe...
(Date:11/24/2009)...lif.,Nov.24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--NeurogesX,Inc.(...evelopingandcommercializingnovelpainmanagementther...dChiefExecutiveOfficer,isscheduledtopresentatthe21...ecember1-2,2009atTheNewYorkPalaceHotelinNewYork,Ne...nancialOfficer,willbeavailabletorespondtoquestions...
(Date:11/24/2009)...HTL , TORONTO,Nov.24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/-Ha...Inc.,aleadingproviderofadvancedlasersystemsandinst...kets,todayreportedoperationalandfinancialresultsfo...ighlights,-Revenuewas$1.46millioncomparedwith$1.4...omparedwith66.1percentinQ3,2008,-Netlossreducedto$...
(Date:11/24/2009)... Program Connects Customers with Partners Va...ith DNA Genotek Products , ...otek , a leading provider of products for biologic...n, today announced its new global partner program....NA Genotek,s partner community and is designed to ...
Breaking Biology Technology:deCODE Receives Delisting Notice From Nasdaq, Plans to Appeal 2deCODE Receives Delisting Notice From Nasdaq, Plans to Appeal 3NeurogesX to Present at Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference 2NeurogesX to Present at Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference 3Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 2Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 3Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 4Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 5Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 6Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 7DNA Genotek Launches Global Partner Program 2DNA Genotek Launches Global Partner Program 3
Other News:
...mers and consumers in Asia have received a little ...he world's trading nations remain deadlocked on ho...ld benefit the poor farmers of the developing worl...f a proven strategy to reduce poverty in the plane...
...prescribed drugs for breast cancer, tamoxifen, may...n genetic variation, according to researchers at t... genetic variation affects the level of a crucial ...ncer.......The study, co-led by researcher James R...
...f overfishing may have driven marbled murrelets, a..., to increasingly rely upon less nutritious food s...the University of California, Berkeley.......The r... in the journal Conservation Biology, suggest that...
Rutgers geneticists have reported groundbreaking research on the genetics of fertility. They have discovered two genes, aptly named egg-1 and egg-2, required for fertilization to take place. The prote
Some good news for the world's poor 2Some good news for the world's poor 3Some good news for the world's poor 4Gene variation affects tamoxifen's benefit for breast cancer 2Overfishing may drive endangered seabird to rely upon lower quality food 2Overfishing may drive endangered seabird to rely upon lower quality food 3Overfishing may drive endangered seabird to rely upon lower quality food 4Overfishing may drive endangered seabird to rely upon lower quality food 5Fertility genes discovered at Rugters 2Fertility genes discovered at Rugters 3
...June, 2000, the Adelaidean reported on promising ...ing from cancers of the liver. The researchers hav...rials to the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Roya...a).......The surgical team, led by Professor Guy M...
...1-2002 William T. Porter Fellowship winners announ...ciety (APS) has awarded its Porter Physiology Fell... in science to encourage diversity among students ...iscipline of physiology. This year, nine students...
...concern mounts over the spread of anthrax and othe...nd that many microbes have the potential to benefi...a $2.5 million federal grant to study one such mic... which scientists consider the premier model for u...
...NEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL--Two groups of plant scientist...d four-year, $3.1 million grants from the National...s and corn as part of NSF's Plant Genome Research ...e than $71 million, which will be shared by 109 in...
New liver cancer treatment; the current picture 2APS awards more than $160,000 to minority students of physiology 2Stanford scientists to probe inner workings of remarkable microbe 2Stanford scientists to probe inner workings of remarkable microbe 3Stanford scientists to probe inner workings of remarkable microbe 4NSF awards two plant genome grants to University of Minnesota 2NSF awards two plant genome grants to University of Minnesota 3