THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF 16α-BROMOEPIANDROSTERONE AS ADJUVANT FOR THE TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION

GIANNONE, DENISE ANABELA; MARIA FLORENCIA QUIROGA; VECCHIONE, MARÍA BELÉN

Congreso; Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biociencias.; 2021

Purpose: Despite being preventable and curable, tuberculosis (TB)is one of the principal causes of death worldwide. Macrophages playa key role in controlling Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection.In search of an adjuvant for TB treatment, we aimed to study a syntheticderivate from DHEA, 16𝛼-Br-epiandrosterone (HE2000) as amodulator of bacterial growth and Mtb-induced immune response inhuman macrophages.Methods: Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) test was performedby growing Mtb H37Rv in the presence of HE2000. Bacterialintracellular growth was evaluated by incubating Mtb infected THP-1macrophages at different time points in the presence of HE2000.After 21 days of culture, colony-forming units (CFU) were quantified.Phagocytic activity was assessed by treating infected macrophageswith HE2000 and stained by the Ziehl Neelsen technique. Nonparametrictests were used and a p