Metatranscriptomics in Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Metatranscriptomics in Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease

  • IRAS ID

    296492

  • Contact name

    Michael R Loebinger

  • Contact email

    m.loebinger@imperial.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Imperial College London

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are bacteria that are found throughout the environment. They can cause infection in various sites in the body, including the lungs. While they do not usually cause disease in healthy people, they can cause lung infections in people who have lung diseases or those who have immune system defects. Diagnosis of NTM infection is very challenging. The treatment of NTM infection is long, associated with a range of side effects and may not be successful. It is therefore important to develop a deeper understanding of what factors affect the clinical course of NTM infections, as this in turn will help to guide the development of improved diagnostic and treatment strategies.

    The lungs contain various resident bacteria, collectively known as the lung microbiome, which may interact with NTM and in turn may influence the severity of NTM disease that develops and how well a patient responds to NTM treatment. To date, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the interactions between the lung microbiome and NTM. By using genetic analysis techniques on sputum samples collected from patients with NTM infection, this study aims to address this knowledge gap by identifying how the lung microbiome interacts with NTM to affect outcomes in patients with NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). It is hoped that this will result in a better understanding of how NTM infections cause variable disease in different patients and help guide the development of new ways to monitor and treat the condition. Participants will be recruited from respiratory clinics at the Royal Brompton Hospital. The study forms part of a research fellowship training award to one of the co-investigators. The study is funded by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the Lee Family endowment to the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London.

  • REC name

    North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    21/NE/0102

  • Date of REC Opinion

    15 Jun 2021

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion