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Nanobead-based interventions for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis

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Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the most devastating bacterial diseases to affect humans. M. tuberculosis is a robust pathogen that has evolved the capacity to survive and grow inside macrophage phagosomes. A cocktail of antibiotics has long been successfully used against M. tuberculosis but is becoming less effective owing to the emergence of multidrug resistance. The only available preventive vaccine, using Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin, is considered to be ineffective against adult pulmonary TB, the most prevalent form of the disease. Here, we review the potential use of biodegradable nanoparticle-based anti-TB drug delivery systems that have been shown to be more effective against M. tuberculosis in animal models than conventional antibiotic treatment regimens. This technology also has substantial potential for vaccination and other therapeutic strategies against TB and other infectious diseases.

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Figure 1: Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and granuloma formation.
Figure 2: Nanobead properties.
Figure 3: The principle of slow drug release with nanoparticles.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Maleki, M. Gutierrez, A. Haas, B. Plikaytis and J. Posey for critically evaluating this Review, and J. Husley and the creative services of the CDC for help with figures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gareth Griffiths is at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway.,

    Gareth Griffiths

  2. Bo Nyström is at the Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, 0315 Oslo, Norway.,

    Bo Nyström

  3. Suraj B. Sable is at the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.,

    Suraj B. Sable

  4. Gopal K. Khuller is at the Department of Biochemistry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, 160 012, Chandigarh, India.,

    Gopal K. Khuller

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  1. Gareth Griffiths
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Correspondence to Gareth Griffiths.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary information S1 (table)

Some characteristic properties of polymers that can be used to produce biocompatible micro- and nanobeads. (PDF 883 kb)

Supplementary information S2 (table)

Salient features of antitubercular drug delivery systems (PDF 263 kb)

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FURTHER INFORMATION

Global Alliance for TB Drug Development

Stop TB Partnership tuberculosis vaccine candidates – 2009

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Griffiths, G., Nyström, B., Sable, S. et al. Nanobead-based interventions for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis. Nat Rev Microbiol 8, 827–834 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2437

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