M. tuberculosis (Mtb) is a pathogen that causes the deadly disease ‘tuberculosis' (Tb) in human and kills more than a million globally every year. The incidence of Tb has increased also in developed countries due to the emergence of multi-drug-resistant forms of the bacteria, ineffectiveness of the vaccine and global human migration, making Tb a global threat. In Mtb, many virulence factors are responsible for causing the disease and we are studying on one such set of complexes, called as mammalian cell entry (Mce) complexes and associated proteins which stabilize them. Our aim is to gain a detailed understanding on how these complexes import lipids from the host and from its cell surface to survive for long duration in the host cells, which highly increases the chances of getting the disease. In the long-term, the results obtained from our research will help to develop anti-Tb drugs, vaccines and diagnostic kits to prevent, reduce and cure this deadly disease in a more effective way.

2025

2029