Petros Karakousis, M.D., FIDSA
Professor of Medicine, International Health, and
Molecular Microbiology & Immunology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Tuberculosis treatment is prolonged in part because Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) can enter a drug-tolerant “persister” state that survives antibiotic exposure. This talk will highlight two complementary, novel strategies to eliminate persisters and shorten therapy: (i) pharmacologic disruption of the Mtb persister program by targeting the essential stringent-response enzyme RelMtb to drive metabolic reactivation and increase antibiotic susceptibility, and (ii) an immunologic approach using a dendritic-cell–targeted DNA vaccine designed to amplify Rel-specific T-cell responses so the host immune system can better recognize and clear persister-enriched Mtb populations. Together, these studies support RelMtb as a central vulnerability in persistence and motivate new host- and pathogen-directed routes to faster, more durable TB cure.