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Single-cell spatiotemporal analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis responses to antibiotics within host microenvironments

Project description

A new approach to gauge M.tb response to antibiotics

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis, responsible for millions of deaths every year in Asian and African countries. Continuous efforts towards the development of novel and more effective treatments emphasise the need to understand how the intracellular environment affects the response of Mycobacteria to antibiotics. The EU-funded SpaTime_AnTB project proposes to study the mechanisms through which intracellular Mycobacteria respond to antibiotics in host cells using cutting-edge imaging technologies. The project's findings will provide essential knowledge on Mycobacterium biology and identify the spatial and metabolic determinants of drug response, opening new avenues for the design of therapeutic interventions.

Objective

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is an intracellular pathogen that killed 1.6 million people in 2017. Despite its enormous relevance for TB treatment, how intracellular environments affect the response of Mtb to antibiotics remain poorly characterised. This gap in knowledge is mainly due to the lack of appropriate technologies that have precluded comprehensive understanding of the response of intracellular pathogens to antibiotics, critical to design rational interventions.

Here, I propose to use cutting-edge imaging approaches to define: (i) Mtb responses towards specific host-subcellular microenvironments by single-cell live long-term imaging in infected human stem cell-derived macrophages (iPSDM); (ii) the dynamics of antibiotic-mediated killing mechanisms using mycobacterial fluorescent reporters and high resolution correlative microscopy and (iii) the spatial and metabolic features of the Mtb response to antibiotics in vivo using a TB mouse model.

For this, I will capitalise on technologies developed in the host group to quantify Mtb localisation and replication at the single-cell level combined with correlative electron microscopy (CLEM and CLEIM) approaches. This project will challenge the current limits of high content imaging by combining iPSDM with micro-patterning technologies for single-cell analysis. This will allow the identification of Mtb responses to antibiotics in host cells and how different intracellular microenvironments impact this process in cellulo and in vivo.

Together, this proposal has the potential to uncover novel mechanisms of action of antibiotics in human macrophages, opening new avenues for a deeper understanding of human TB treatment and facilitate the discovery of new antibiotics.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

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Coordinator

THE FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE LIMITED
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 224 933,76
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1 MIDLAND ROAD
NW1 1AT London
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Region
London Inner London — West Camden and City of London
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 224 933,76
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