analytiCal & laboratory EquipmEnt 25
Simple fluorescent detector for tuberulosis
r
esearchers from the university of york and pitt postdoctoral fellow mariana strains from those that are drug resistant,
pittsburgh and the albert Einstein piuri. a chore that can normally take months,
College of medicine have developed "a report from South africa showed that Hatfull said. Hatfull and his colleagues
an onsite method to quickly diagnose the extensively drug-resistant tb strains treated m. tuberculosis with antibiotics
tuberculosis (tb) and expose the deadly can kill within 16 days, on average," Hatfull at the same time the bacteriophages
drug-resistant strains of mycobacterium said. were introduced; the tb strains that were
tuberculosis that can mingle undetected "in rural africa, it takes too long to sensitive to antibiotics died, but the drug-
with treatable strains. collect samples, send them off, do the test, resistant cells survived and continued to
the researchers engineered and have the data sent back. Clinicians glow.
bacteriophages-tiny viruses that attack need rapid, relatively cheap, and simple the group's research was funded as
bacteria-to inject tb bacteria with a methods for detecting tb and drug- part of a major new research initiative from
glowing, fluorescent-green protein. resistant strains at the local clinic. this test Howard Hughes medical institute (HHmi).
the method must next undergo clinical provides a quick diagnosis so the patient the institute announced march 19
trials, but it has potential as a valuable, can be isolated and treated." that it will partner with South africa's
time saving tool in rural african areas the group constructed bacteriophages university of KwaZulu-natal to establish
besieged by tb, explained the paper's specific to tb that have a green an international research centre focused
senior author Graham Hatfull, chair and fluorescence protein (GFp) implanted in on the tb and HiV coepidemics in africa,
Eberly Family professor of biological their genome. bacteriophages spread by called KwaZulu-natal research institute
Sciences in pitt's School of arts and injecting their Dna into bacterial cells-in for tb-HiV. Jacobs will direct research into
Sciences. this case the GFp gene accompanies the developing rapid and effective tb tests, one
Hatfull conducted the research Dna into the tb cell, causing the cell to of the new institute's primary objectives.
with professor William Jacobs Jr. of glow. a clinician can detect the GFp's glow His work with Hatfull and piuri was related
the Department of microbiology and with equipment available at many clinics. to that effort. u
immunology at the albert Einstein College besides quick diagnosis, the test also
of medicine of yeshiva university in new could be used to distinguish treatable tb For more information, visit www.hhmi.org
ELAB ad.indd 1
Circle 25 or ✔ at www.scientistlive.com/elab
5/1/2009 11:38
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