Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore recently discovered that a drug that is currently used to treat asthma could also fight against tuberculosis. Multiple experiments were done on mice and it was found that the anti-asthma drug- Pranlukast, when used alone or in combination with rifampicin, a drug that is generally used against tuberculosis was found to be successful in fighting TB. The study was published recently in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. The researchers focused on the asthma drug and their approach is being called new and a fresh take on the cure of tuberculosis. The drug fights against the TB bacteria in a way that does not harm the good bacteria found in our bodies and therefore isn’t likely to cause any side effects.

Drugs that are already being used to cure TB either cure the disease by targeting the RNA synthesis process (transcription)  of the cell or by targeting the cell-wall synthesis of the bacteria that causes TB. Avadhesha Surolia, Professor at the Molecular Biophysics Unit at the Indian Institute of Sciences and leader of the research said, “(But) we decided to look for drugs that target the arginine (an amino acid) biosynthesis pathway that is essential for the survival of the TB bacteria as well the pathogenesis [process by which the bacteria cause the disease].” The enzyme Ornithine acetyltransferase (ArgJ) is central to the tuberculosis bacteria’s processes- and it can’t be found in humans. Using ArgJ could provide a lot of information on developing an anti-TB drug and it is also less likely to cause any harms to the human body.

Both the anti-asthma and anti-TB drugs were largely found to be extremely effective in inhibiting the growth of the tuberculosis bacteria. “The asthma drug was found to be more effective in curtailing the growth when used alone and in combination with other anti-TB drugs — rifampicin and isoniazid,” said Archita Mishra, first author of the study. “The combination of asthma drug and the two anti-TB drugs was significantly better in killing the bacteria than the currently used first-line combination drugs — rifampicin, isoniazid and ethambutol.” The next step in the research would be the testing of this drug on guinea pigs- but using the same method, alone or in combination with rifampicin. We the results prove to be good testing on humans will take place soon too.

By Purnima

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