Post on 07-Jun-2020
DRUG DISCOVERY: A NEW ANTIBIOTIC TO TREAT KOALAS WITH CHLAMYDIA INFECTIONS Dr Wilhelmina Huston Wilhelmina.huston@uts.edu.au @willaonthego
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lab team:
Sarina Gloeckl Amba Lawrence Pooja Patel
Collaborators: Adam Polkinghorne (USC), Amber Gillet (Aus Zoo/ Wildlife Warriers), Peter Timms (USC), Joel Tyndall (Otago), Matt Bogyo (Stanford) Funding: Queensland Government DHEP Koala Research Grant KRG016
C. trachomatis
C. suis
C. muridarum
C. caviae
C. psittaci
C. felis
C. abortus
C. pneumoniae
C. pecorum
RB EB 2hr PI 8hr PI
8-18hr PI
18-48hr PI (asynchronous)
48-72hr PI
Persistent infection
AB
http://www.healthofchildren.com/images/gech_0001_ 0004_0_img0276.jpg
http://brighamrad.harvard.edu/Cases/bwh/images/56 R18HSG2.GIF
CHLAMYDIA TAKE OVER CELLS
science.uts.edu.au
Koalas get Chlamydia too!
WE NEED A NEW TREATMENT FOR CHLAMYDIA
science.uts.edu.au Joanna E Griffith, Thesis, USyd
KOALA DRUGS ARE TRICKY!
Gut microbiome essential Extreme hepatic metabolism Delivery and Efficacy tricky
science.uts.edu.au
Nat Museum of Aus
KOALA CHLAMYDIA ISOLATES
science.uts.edu.au
Validated against 10 clinical isolates
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science.uts.edu.au
Natalia – uterus cells –
day 1
Natalia – uterus cells –
day 5 Natalia –
uterus cells – day 7
Natalia – uterus cells –
day 11
Not toxic against Koala cells Works on Koala Chlamydia isolates grown in Koala cells
JO146 OR DERIVATIVES AS A KOALA THERAPY???
Yes 3-5 year plan or faster
science.uts.edu.au
OVERALL PORTFOLIO
Intracellular pathogen cultures Antibiotic susceptibility testing Primary tissue work Immune responses Diagnostics Womens health; infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease http://www.uts.edu.au/staff/wilhelmina.huston
science.uts.edu.au
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Summary : Drug development for the Koala Chlamydial diseases
A national icon under major threat
An urgent priority
A challenging scenario for drug discovery
Wilhelmina.Huston@uts.edu.au
Core capabilities for research:
Chlamydia culture
Biochemistry
Toxicity
Primary Koala tissue work