Can drugs that target host signaling pathways be used to eradicate antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

New drugs for use as tuberculosis (TB) treatment are needed due to the constrains of classical antibiotics against TB and the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains, making TB a harder and harder disease to treat.

Tuberculosis (TB) is associated with 1.5 million deaths annually. There is a need exists to optimize both current as well as novel antibiotic combination treatment strategies to improve the effectiveness and safety of treatments against TB.

Can small molecule drugs restore the immune system’s ability to fight tuberculosis by boosting autophagy?

How do lipases in Mycobacterium tuberculosis help the bacteria survive, and can we target them to create new antibiotics?

In this thesis, I study 1) metabolic alterations in tuberculosis related to wasting syndrome in human patients as well as in rodent and fish animal models. 2) effects of the mutation of the leptin gene on cachexia and diabetes in rodent and zebrafish animal models.

IBL-researcher Phil Elks in the group of Annemarie Meijer won the Cell Observatory Publication of the Year 2013. He received the award for his paper in PLoS Pathogens, showing that activation of hypoxia signaling protects against mycobacterial infection.

Though tuberculosis can be cured today, new resistant strains of the bacteria are becoming a growing problem in the medical world. Biologist Annemarie Meijer and her colleagues are studying resistance to this disease. Their research is already yielding several interesting clues that could help the development…

The cellular recycling system in zebrafish is capable of eating harmful bacteria and thus resist infections such as tuberculosis and salmonellosis. That is written by Leiden biologists from the group of Annemarie Meijer. Stimulating this form of defence could be used in new treatment methods against…

This thesis describes the structural and biochemical characterization of the β-lactamase BlaC from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and the Alr and YlmE proteins from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).Mtb is the main cause of tuberculosis.

The effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB) remains a major challenge to global health.

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, A.H. Meijer Co-promotor: R. Marin-Juez

Autophagy is a fundamental degradative process, maintaining cellular homeostasis and functions in host defense against intracellular pathogens, including mycobacteria and Salmonella.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to human health worldwide in the coming decennia.

How is inflammation in tuberculosis controlled by interplay between autophagy and inflammasome signalling?

How do mycobacteria subvert the defenses of host immune cells?

Promotores: A.H. Meijer, H.P. Spaink

The research described in this thesis has, using the zebrafish as a model system, shed new light on the intricate relationship between TB and DM2, in particular on the role of leptin, SHP-1 and glucocorticoids.

An international consortium of research groups is aiming to develop novel antibiotics against the tuberculosis bacteria and two other deadly bacteria. The European Union has awarded a total of 18 million euros to the RespiriTB and RespiriNTM projects. Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Centre…

Are Weyl particles the ideal conductors? Do cells without a cell wall play a role in chronic Tuberculosis infections? Carlo Beenakker and Dennis Claessen want to answer these questions. They both received a KLEIN grant from the NWO. With these grants, NWO wants to stimulate innovative, fundamental r…

The zebrafish is a promising vertebrate model organism in early drug discovery and development.

On Monday 21 September Annemarie Meijer, Professor of Immunobiology, presented her inaugural lecture on immunobiology and infectious disease.