Publications by authors named "Aaron Goff"

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major global health challenge, killing over 1.5 million people each year, and hence, there is a need to identify and develop novel treatments for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis).

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Article Synopsis
  • Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious global health issue, causing over 10.6 million new cases and 1.4 million deaths in 2021, worsened by the rise of drug-resistant strains like MDR-TB and XDR-TB.
  • New compounds called BGAz, derived from a whole cell phenotypic screen, have shown strong bactericidal effects against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB with no emerging drug resistance.
  • These BGAz compounds work by disrupting the mycobacterial cell envelope and mycolic acid synthesis, showing a distinct action from current treatments, along with favorable toxicological and pharmacokinetic profiles for future chemotherapy development.
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Drug resistance is one of the most difficult challenges facing tuberculosis (TB) control. Drug efflux is among the mechanisms leading to drug resistance. In our previous studies, we partially characterized the ABC-type MSMEG-3762/63 efflux pump in Mycobacterium smegmatis, which shares high percentage of identity with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv1687/86c pump.

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Background: Mycobacterium chimaera is a slowly growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium associated with outbreaks of fatal infections in patients after cardiac surgery, and it is increasingly being detected in patients with chronic lung conditions. M chimaera can cause disseminated disease, osteomyelitis, and chronic skin or soft-tissue infections. We aimed to find new inhibitory compounds and drug repurposing opportunities for M chimaera, as current therapeutic options often result in poor outcomes.

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New strategies are required to reduce the worldwide burden of tuberculosis. Intracellular survival and replication of after macrophage phagocytosis is a fundamental step in the complex host-pathogen interactions that lead to granuloma formation and disease. Greater understanding of how the bacterium survives and thrives in these environments will inform novel drug and vaccine discovery programs.

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