Could a Common Glaucoma Drug Treat Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis?

Ethoxzolamide, a common glaucoma medication, could also be used to treat tuberculosis (TB) and prevention of drug resistance, according to a recent study.

The drug works by disabling the bacterium’s ability to invade the immune system.1

“Basically, ethoxzolamide stops TB from deploying its weapons…shutting down its ability to grow inside certain white blood cells in the immune system,” researchers wrote.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
New Strategy to Combat Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
New TB Test May Improve Accuracy of Diagnosis
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For their study, researchers evaluated 273,000 compounds in the hopes of locating a viable option to thwart the disease. They were able to successfully discover a compound using a synthetic biosensor that gives off a green glow in reaction to any conditions mimicking TB.1,2

Moving forward, the investigators believe the drug could not only prevent the disease from spreading, but also decrease the length of treatment thereby preventing the development of drug resistance.

“We don’t necessarily have to find drugs that kill TB, we just need to find ones that interfere with the bug’s ability to sense and resist the immune system,” said Robert Abramovitch, PhD, lead researcher of the study and Michigan State University microbiologist.1

By giving the immune system a helping hand, natural defenses can then kill the bacteria,” he concluded.1

The complete study is published in the August issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

References:

1. Michigan State University. MSU scientists set sights on glaucoma medication to treat TB. April 2015 [press release]. http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2015/msu-scientists-set-sights-on-glaucoma-medication-to-treat-tb/. Accessed June 24, 2015.

2. Johnson BK Colvin CJ, Needle DB, et al. The carbonic anhydrase inhibitor Ethoxzolamide inhibits the mycobacterium tuberculosis PhoPR Regulon and Esx-1 secretion and attenuates virulence. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015 April [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1128/AAC.00719-15.