Current treatment regimens for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, are long, complex, and hard for people to sustain. Moreover, the bacteria often develop drug resistance, and many people harbor multi-drug-resistant strains. In 2018 alone, nearly 1.5 million people died from tuberculosis worldwide.
Now, a study in iScience suggests a new approach that might help: making people’s cells better at killing Mtb by harnessing RNA sensors in our cells, which detect the RNA of invading pathogens.
RNA sensing is part of our first-line immune defense. For the first time, researchers led by Anne Goldfeld, MD, of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, showed that RNA sensing is important in inhibiting Mtb’s growth once it gets inside cells.
