The Scientists at Indian Institute of Science created a novel 3D hydrogel culture system that closely mimics the human lung.
This provides a platform to track and study how tuberculosis bacteria infect lung cells and test the efficacy of therapeutics used to treat the infection.
The new hydrogel culture is composed of collagen, a key component of lung tissue.
This 3D environment allows researchers to observe how TB bacteria interact with human immune cells over extended periods – up to three weeks.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a dangerous pathogen.
In 2022, it affected 10.6 million people and caused 1.3 million deaths.