How tuberculosis bacteria handle damaged proteins
Official title: Phosphoarginine-linked protein quality control and stress responses in mycobacteria
Funded at University of Delaware · NIH-11370840 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will learn how TB bacteria use a chemical tag called phosphoarginine to mark and remove damaged proteins so new drug targets for people with tuberculosis can be identified.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Delaware NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 15, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $384,827 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI171196-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11370840 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Although this is laboratory research, people with active or drug-resistant tuberculosis are the ultimate patient group who could benefit and might be eligible for future clinical trials based on these findings.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without tuberculosis or those with infections caused by other bacteria are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this basic lab-focused research in the near term.
What this research studies
If you have tuberculosis, researchers are studying the bacterial machinery that tags and destroys damaged proteins to understand how the germs survive stress. In the lab they will map which mycobacterial proteins receive the phosphoarginine tag, test what kinds of stress trigger tagging, and study how the ClpC1P1P2 protease and related proteins recognize and break down those tagged proteins. The team will use biochemical experiments and comparisons to related bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis to pinpoint weak spots in the system. The goal is to find molecular targets that could be used to develop new antibiotics against drug-resistant TB.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal new drug targets that lead to antibiotics for drug-resistant tuberculosis.
How similar studies have gone: Related studies have shown phosphoarginine tagging in other bacteria and prior work has validated Clp proteases as promising antibiotic targets, but applying phosphoarginine biology specifically to M. tuberculosis is a newer area of research.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Delaware
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schmitz, Karl Robert — University of Delaware
- Study coordinator: Schmitz, Karl Robert
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.