Bactericidal Activity of Liposomal Form of Lytic Mycobacteriophage D29 in Cell Models of Tuberculosis Infection In Vitro.

The use of lytic mycobacteriophages to treat tuberculosis under conditions of acquired resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs is one of the most practical ways to improve the effectiveness of therapy and reduce the spread of this disease. We studied the efficacy of antimycobacterial action of mycobacteriophage D29 encapsulated into 400-nm liposomes in cell models of tuberculosis infection in vitro. The antimycobacterial action of lytic mycobacteriophage D29 used in free or liposome-encapsulated forms was demonstrated on cell models of intracellularly infected RAW264.

Application of water-soluble nanofilters for collection of airborne Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in hospital wards.

A simple inexpensive technique for collection of airborne biomarkers of nosocomial infections is described. Biomarkers were collected on water-soluble electrospun nanofilters attached to a household vacuum cleaner from 6-10m(3) of air in 10-15min within several wards of a tuberculosis clinic. Filters were then dissolved in water and tested for the presence of the IS6110 and regX3 genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Identification of HI-like loop in CELO adenovirus fiber for incorporation of receptor binding motifs.

Vectors based on the chicken embryo lethal orphan (CELO) avian adenovirus (Ad) have two attractive properties for gene transfer applications: resistance to preformed immune responses to human Ads and the ability to grow in chicken embryos, allowing low-cost production of recombinant viruses. However, a major limitation of this technology is that CELO vectors demonstrate decreased efficiency of gene transfer into cells expressing low levels of the coxsackie-Ad receptor (CAR). In order to improve the efficacy of gene transfer into CAR-deficient cells, we modified viral tropism via genetic alteration of the CELO fiber 1 protein.