TREATMENT OF <i>MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS</i> WITH ANTISENSE OLIGONUCLEOTIDES

摘要

Methods of inhibiting the proliferation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis comprising contacting Mycobacterium tuberculosis with an effective amount of a polynucleotide complementary to an mRNA transcript expressed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis are provided. Typical methods of the invention utilize phosphorothioate modified antisense polynucleotides (PS-ODNs) against the mRNA of M.tuberculosis genes such as glutamine synthetase, aroA, ask, groES, and the genes of the Antigen 85 complex. Optionally, the methods employ multiple antisense polynucleotides targeting different Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcripts. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the antisense polynucleotides are complementary to the 5' regions of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcripts.