Tuberculosis treatment: exploring the perspectives for personalized therapy

Tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating disease affecting people of all ages across the globe. The success of TB treatment depends on several parameters, and there is a great interest for the transition from programmatic to personalized management of TB. Thus, there is a critical need for innovative new technologies for treatment response monitoring, and development of blood-based biomarkers together with understanding of population pharmacogenomics. The aim of this project is to explore pharmacogenomics biomarkers and to enable the progression of the personalized approach for TB patients. The work plan includes three WPs: (1) Sample collection and assessing factors that could impact host responses to TB treatment; (2) Development of methodology for monitoring of drug substances and main metabolites in blood samples; (3) Development of biomarkers assays and screening of host biomarkers in TB patients. For this collaborative research the involvement of experienced scientists from Riga Stradiņš University, Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, and Institute of Organic Chemistry is planned, that combines expertise in clinical research, molecular biology and chemistry. The implementation of this project will develop new knowledge and tools, strengthen the laboratories and promote training of new professionals. The collection of high-quality TB clinical samples and availability of whole-genome sequencing data of Mtb strains is of high international importance.