Optimization of In Vitro and Growth Assays for Therapeutic Development.

Infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a complication of lung disease in immunocompromised patients, including those with human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis (CF). The most widespread, disease-causing NTM is complex (), which colonizes the lungs as a combination of , , and other mycobacterial species. While combination drug therapy exists for colonization, there is no cure. Therapeutic development to treat has been difficult because of the slow-growing nature of the bacterial complex, limiting the ability to characterize the bacteria's growth in response to new therapeutics. The development of a technology that allows observation of both the predominant strains and could provide a means to develop new therapeutics to treat NTM. We have developed a new methodology in which and can be optimally grown in short term culture to study each strain independently and in combination, as a monitor of growth kinetics and efficient therapeutic testing protocols.