Unravelling SNARE Complexes Involved in Autophagy as a Therapeutic strategy for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Unravelling SNARE Complexes Involved in Autophagy as a Therapeutic strategy for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Prof. Suresh Kumar, Biological sciences and Bioengineering)

The research aims to investigate the cellular and molecular events related to the novel autophagy intermediate HyPAS in combating intracellular Mtb, utilizing the team's expertise to identify potential drug targets for enhanced pathogen elimination. In vitro studies will involve infecting macrophages with Mtb, aerosol infection of transgenic mice, GST-pulldown assays, and Isothermal Calorimetry. Cryo-EM will reveal HyPAS machinery structures post-Mtb infection, elucidating autophagy and calcium channel interplay. Electrophysiological recordings will validate structural models. Elucidating the SNARE complex structure involved in autophagosome formation is expected to uncover novel drug targets within the autophagy pathway, enabling more effective strategies to combat Mtb infections.