Tuberculosis: Mice Survived Longer on Senolytic Drugs
Graded Preliminary — mouse experiments with small groups, no blinding and several results that fell short of statistical significance, so relevance to human tuberculosis is untested.
Animal study. Findings may not carry over to people, which is why the grade is capped at Preliminary.
- Design
- Animal study
- Participants
- —
- Duration
- —
- Funding
- US National Institutes of Health (NIAID, NHLBI, NCI)
In infected mice, three senolytic drugs added to tuberculosis treatment stretched median survival from 68 to 98 days.
Tuberculosis destroys lung tissue, and older age has long been known to push the infection toward active disease. A research team looked for a reason in mice. Their suspects were worn-out cells that no longer divide but keep releasing substances that damage tissue and dampen immune defence.
In the lungs of infected mice, these cells were two to three times as common as in young, ordinary animals. The excess showed up in a particularly susceptible mouse strain and in aged animals. The team then gave a mix of three drugs meant to kill such cells: dasatinib, quercetin and fisetin. Added to partial tuberculosis treatment, the mix stretched median survival to 98 days, compared with 68 days on the partial treatment alone. In a separate experiment, bacterial counts in the lung dropped sharply and the diseased area of the lung was smaller.
The picture is not uniform. The drug mix on its own helped some animals live longer, but that difference was not statistically solid. Between 40 and 50 percent of the susceptible mice died within the first 35 days whatever they received. Nothing here was tested in people; the authors argue that clinical trials deserve consideration.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors declare no competing interests.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.