Regulation Of Pulmonary Immune Responses To Subunit Vaccines Against Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$509,202.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) remains an enormous health problem world-wide. Improving the effectiveness of anti-TB vaccines is essential for its control. The first approach to improving subunit TB vaccines will be to manipulate the cellular immune response to the vaccine by increasing the positive cytokine signals, or reducing inhibitory effects on the immune response. The second approach is to develop new subunit vaccines to deliver to the lung in order to increase the potency of the protective response.
Chronic Bacterial Infection And The Generation Of T Cell Memory: Implication For Vaccination Against Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$547,970.00
Summary
Two million people die from tuberculosis (TB) each year. The immune system is unable to eradicate the TB bacterium, and the type of immune response needed to protect against the disease is poorly understood. We will use animal models of TB infection and sophisticated immunological techniques to decipher how the TB bacterium interacts with the immune sytem and causes disease. We will also develop new TB vaccines that aim to boost the immune response in the lung, the main site of TB infection.
Attenuated And Recombinant Mycobacterial Strains As Novel Vaccines To Control Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,500.00
Summary
Tuberculosis is a major worldwide health problem. Around one third of the world s population is infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, which results in 2 million deaths per year. Furthermore, people infected with the AIDS virus are at a much greater risk of catching tuberculosis. The only vaccine available for tuberculosis, known as BCG, is not very effective at preventing the disease. Therefore there is an urgent need to develop new vaccines to help combat tuberculosis. This proj ....Tuberculosis is a major worldwide health problem. Around one third of the world s population is infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, which results in 2 million deaths per year. Furthermore, people infected with the AIDS virus are at a much greater risk of catching tuberculosis. The only vaccine available for tuberculosis, known as BCG, is not very effective at preventing the disease. Therefore there is an urgent need to develop new vaccines to help combat tuberculosis. This project aims to develop and test novel vaccines to prevent tuberculosis. We will produce forms of the existing BCG vaccine that have been altered to boost the components of the immune system needed to provide optimal protection against tuberculosis. Other potential vaccines that we will test are very similar to the bacterium that causes tuberculosis but have been altered such that they do not cause disease. Using animal models of tuberculosis and sophisticated immunological techniques we wish to determine if these live vaccines can stimulate the right type of immune response needed to fight tuberculosis and prevent infection. This is an internationally competitive project and our team is at the forefront of this research effort. A new, effective tuberculosis vaccine would be a major medical breakthrough and a represent a significant achievement for Australian health and medical research.Read moreRead less
Functional Genomic Analysis Of Multidrug Efflux In The Emerging Pathogen Acinetobacter Baumannii
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,226.00
Summary
Infections due to antimicrobial resistant organisms are a major public health issue. Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterium that is increasingly being identified as a significant cause of serious antibiotic resistant infections, especially in the intensive care unit setting. Molecular studies in Acinetobacter to identify and characterise drug resistance proteins that pump antibiotics out of the cell will help understand the resistance capabilities and potential of this bacterium.
Molecular Approaches To Developing Subunit Vaccines With Improved Efficacy Against Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$480,750.00
Summary
Tuberculosis remains a major worldwide health problem, resulting in approximately 3 million deaths per year. Furthermore, people infected with the AIDS virus are at a much greater risk of catching tuberculosis. The only vaccine available for tuberculosis, known as BCG, is not very effective at preventing the disease. Therefore there is an urgent need to develop new vaccines to help combat tuberculosis. The bacterium that causes tuberculosis is made up of may proteins, some of which are known to ....Tuberculosis remains a major worldwide health problem, resulting in approximately 3 million deaths per year. Furthermore, people infected with the AIDS virus are at a much greater risk of catching tuberculosis. The only vaccine available for tuberculosis, known as BCG, is not very effective at preventing the disease. Therefore there is an urgent need to develop new vaccines to help combat tuberculosis. The bacterium that causes tuberculosis is made up of may proteins, some of which are known to induce immune responses in animals and humans. We will produce vaccines that are made from 13 of these important proteins. Using a laboratory animal model that closely mimics human tuberculosis infection, together with sophisticated immunological techniques, we will determine if these vaccines stimulate the right immune response to fight tuberculosis and prevent infection. In addition, we will exploit molecules known to boost immune responses to optimise these vaccines. Further we will study the recently sequenced genome of the tuberculosis bacterium to identify new proteins that may be included in these novel anti-tuberculosis vaccines. This is an internationally competitive project and our team is at the forefront of this research effort. A new, effective tuberculosis vaccine would be a major medical breakthrough and a represent a significant achievement for Australian health and medical research.Read moreRead less
Structural Studies Of Bacterial Pore-forming Protein Toxins
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$267,750.00
Summary
The general aim of this work is to investigate the three-dimensional structures of important target proteins using X-ray crystallography. Protein crystallography is the study of the three-dimensional shapes of proteins at near atomic resolution. In this method proteins are made to form crystals. X-ray beams are then shone on the crystals causing the X-rays to scatter in a pattern which is characteristic of the protein's three-dimensional shape. Knowledge of the structure of proteins is necessary ....The general aim of this work is to investigate the three-dimensional structures of important target proteins using X-ray crystallography. Protein crystallography is the study of the three-dimensional shapes of proteins at near atomic resolution. In this method proteins are made to form crystals. X-ray beams are then shone on the crystals causing the X-rays to scatter in a pattern which is characteristic of the protein's three-dimensional shape. Knowledge of the structure of proteins is necessary for the complete understanding of their biological activity and is also very useful for the rational design of new drugs that may alter their activity. Approximately, one third of the body's proteins are attached to membranes. However, relatively little is known about the three-dimensional structures of this important class of proteins. In this project the structures of proteins that form pores in membrane cell walls are being determined. Thses proteins are bacterial toxins and knowledge of their structure may prove useful in the design of new antibiotics.Read moreRead less
Identification And Analysis Of Novel Replication Initiation Factors In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,789.00
Summary
Multi-drug resistant Golden staph is a serious medical problem around the world because strains are often resistant to commonly used treatments; new drugs are therefore urgently required. DNA replication is a fundamental process that is essential for the survival of all cellular organisms. This project aims to identify and characterise novel factors involved in DNA replication in Golden staph, which represent potential drug targets.
Novel Compounds For Use As Inhibitors Of Virulence Of Human Pathogens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$220,500.00
Summary
There is growing concern over the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains of bacteria which are no longer treatable with the current generation of antibiotics. This highlights the urgent need for development of the next generation of therapeutic agents to supplement or replace the current antibiotics. Our research team has identified a class of compounds which are naturally produced by a marine alga that may be effective in the control of bacterial pathogens. These compounds work by interferin ....There is growing concern over the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains of bacteria which are no longer treatable with the current generation of antibiotics. This highlights the urgent need for development of the next generation of therapeutic agents to supplement or replace the current antibiotics. Our research team has identified a class of compounds which are naturally produced by a marine alga that may be effective in the control of bacterial pathogens. These compounds work by interfering with the way many pathogens regulate the production of virulence traits. Some bacteria are able to signal members of their population by the specific uptake and recognition, through a receptor protein, of chemical cues they secrete into the environment. Accumulation of these cues or signals triggers expression of the genes that code for the virulence traits. Moreover, one particular class of these signal response proteins has been identified in many pathogens and has been shown to regulate protease production and production of a protective extracellular slime layer called a capsule. If one or more of these traits can be blocked, then the virulence of the bacterium can be reduced. We have preliminary data which demonstrates that the algal compounds do in fact prevent the expression of virulence traits and thus should be useful as new agents for the treatment of disease. The causative agents of cholera and severe gatroenteritis, Vibrio cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus respectively, have one or the other of these virulence traits, but the pathogen Vibrio vulnificus has all three and therefore is an excellent model pathogen. We propose to explore the ability of the algal compounds to specifically shut down expression of virulence factors with a long term aim for the development of these compounds as novel antimicrobial therapies for the post-antibiotic era.Read moreRead less