Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
School of Biological Sciences
Department of Biochemistry
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
The research programme focuses on the interaction of patient antibodies with antigens of lipid, carbohydrate and protein nature. In the field of tuberculosis, two significant breakthroughs were made by the group.
One PhD student learned how to synthetize the waxy mycolic acids that encapsulate the tuberculosis causing mycobacterium in a stereochemical-controlled way at University of Wales, Bangor. Together with co-workers from Bangor, they subsequently created several isomers that were tested positively for biological activity at University. This is the first demonstration ever of the chemical synthesis of an antigenic mycolic acid that paves the way for the elucidation of the role of these molecules in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. It also prepares for an improved diagnosis of tuberculosis, based on the detection of antibodies to mycolic acids as surrogate markers for active TB. This approach has been patented internationally by UP and is currently being developed for the market.
A second significant breakthrough was the discovery that mycolic acid folds to assume the structure of cholesterol. With the collaboration of the Department of Chemistry, one MSc student could brilliantly demonstrate that a cholesterol binding pharmaceutical could bind equally well to mycolic acid. The critical role that cholesterol plays in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis is already well known, but this breakthrough for the first time indicates the role of mycolic acid in it. This discovery has great potential to be exploited in the development of new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of TB. By means of our collaboration with the University of Gent, one PhD student could demonstrate how mycolic acid prevents asthma in mice. This work was published in 2006
Contact person: Prof JA Verschoor.
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