Now tuberculosis can be controlled - Promises of a new technique!
Pramita Pokhrel
We are creating a system to stop development of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a well-known bacterial disease caused by Mycobacteria. Every year, millions of dollars are spent on treatment yet many people die in spite of the best care. Treatment of this disease is challenging since this bacteria hide inside our bodies cells and can defy our immune system. Our laboratory in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology in Uppsala University has made some progress in this regard. We have found that mycobacterium divides in a unique fashion. All bacteria other than mycobacteria divide from the middle of the cell. Mycobacteria can divide at any position along the length of the cell. Does this feature contribute to making them the most successful pathogen in history?
I tried to investigate this by using a new technique known as Anti-sense RNA technique, where I can switch on or off the production of a particular protein at will. I have successfully made an Anti-sense RNA against a mycobacterial protein (MSMEG2690) that helps this bacterium to divide. By switching on this Anti-sense RNA, our team is aiming to study if this bacterium can survive without dividing? This will provide novel information about how this bacterium survives in nature and may offer targets for new drugs to cure this deadliest of diseases.
Degree project in biology, Bachelor of Science, 2011 Examensarbete I biologi 15hp till kandidatexamen, 2011
Biology Education Centre and Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University.
Supervisors: Bhupender Singh and Prof. Leif A Kirsebom
