BACKGROUND
Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of opportunistic bacterial pathogens, which can cause severe pulmonary infections in people with an immunocompromised condition, such as cystic fibrosis (CF). 2,990 people died primarily from NTM in the United States between 1999-2010; these data also show a significant increase in deaths across time. Additionally, these data show that people with CF are particularly at risk for this infection to be lethal. However, little is known about the mechanism that drives host susceptibility to NTM pulmonary infection in CF patients. This presents a need for disease-specific treatments for this condition in order to protect those most vulnerable to this disease.
SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY
Researchers at OSU have developed a proof-of-concept for a novel treatment of NTM in patients of cystic fibrosis. They investigated the lung transcriptome in a CF mouse model infected with Mycobacterium abscessus (M.abcessus), one of the most common NTM pathogens in CF patients. Test results revealed that blockage of the PD-L1/PD-1-mediated immune checkpoint pathway rescued T cell-mediated M. abscessus killing within macrophages, and Th1 and Th17 T cell activation in ex vivo cell culture and CF mouse models during M. abscessus infection. Therefore, test data suggest a potential application of targeting the PDL1/PD-1 pathway as a novel host-directed therapy against NTM pulmonary infection in CF patients.
POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATION
MAIN ADVANTAGES
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT