Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. It is exacerbated by the rise of multi-drug resistant strains. Host-directed therapies are an innovative approach by targeting host pathways to enhance immunity and suppress bacterial replication. The work described in this thesi...

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Main Author: Larsson, Simon
Other Authors: Suresh Jeyaraj Jesuthasan
Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180359
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1803592024-11-01T08:23:04Z Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis Larsson, Simon Suresh Jeyaraj Jesuthasan Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Philip W. Ingham pwi20@bath.ac.uk, sureshj@ntu.edu.sg Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. It is exacerbated by the rise of multi-drug resistant strains. Host-directed therapies are an innovative approach by targeting host pathways to enhance immunity and suppress bacterial replication. The work described in this thesis makes use of the zebrafish model to investigate potential target pathways for host directed therapies against tuberculosis. The first section of focuses on understanding the role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in the immune response to mycobacterial infection. I demonstrate that modulating the activity of this pathway affects the progression of infection in zebrafish larvae. I also showed that human macrophages secrete functional Sonic Hedgehog in response to mycobacterial infection, regulated by the transcription factor Stat6. The second section explores a natural product screen that identified a marine extract, JM3-1, which disrupts vascular development in zebrafish embryos. While JM3-1 induced vascular defects, such as angiogenic hyper-sprouting and edema, it did not impact bacterial burden in M. marinum infections, suggesting its effects are independent of host-pathogen interactions. Overall, this thesis highlights the zebrafish as a powerful model for identifying novel host targets and screening potential therapeutic compounds. The discoveries made herein offer important insights into the role of host signaling pathways in tuberculosis, offering potential avenues for future development of host-directed therapies. Doctor of Philosophy 2024-10-15T04:47:14Z 2024-10-15T04:47:14Z 2023 Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy Larsson, S. (2023). Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180359 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180359 10.32657/10356/180359 en This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
spellingShingle Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Larsson, Simon
Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
description Tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. It is exacerbated by the rise of multi-drug resistant strains. Host-directed therapies are an innovative approach by targeting host pathways to enhance immunity and suppress bacterial replication. The work described in this thesis makes use of the zebrafish model to investigate potential target pathways for host directed therapies against tuberculosis. The first section of focuses on understanding the role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in the immune response to mycobacterial infection. I demonstrate that modulating the activity of this pathway affects the progression of infection in zebrafish larvae. I also showed that human macrophages secrete functional Sonic Hedgehog in response to mycobacterial infection, regulated by the transcription factor Stat6. The second section explores a natural product screen that identified a marine extract, JM3-1, which disrupts vascular development in zebrafish embryos. While JM3-1 induced vascular defects, such as angiogenic hyper-sprouting and edema, it did not impact bacterial burden in M. marinum infections, suggesting its effects are independent of host-pathogen interactions. Overall, this thesis highlights the zebrafish as a powerful model for identifying novel host targets and screening potential therapeutic compounds. The discoveries made herein offer important insights into the role of host signaling pathways in tuberculosis, offering potential avenues for future development of host-directed therapies.
author2 Suresh Jeyaraj Jesuthasan
author_facet Suresh Jeyaraj Jesuthasan
Larsson, Simon
format Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
author Larsson, Simon
author_sort Larsson, Simon
title Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
title_short Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
title_full Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
title_fullStr Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
title_full_unstemmed Use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
title_sort use of the zebrafish model for target identification for host-directed therapies against tuberculosis
publisher Nanyang Technological University
publishDate 2024
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180359
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