Dynamic Evolution of Active and Latent Tuberculosis

Philana Ling Lin of the University of Pittsburgh in the U.S. will use imaging technologies such as PET and CT scans to study the biological mechanisms related to the reactivation of latent tuberculosis to better understand the fundamental characteristics of reactivation, as well as provide insight about new ways to induce or limit reactivation of latent tuberculosis. This project's Phase I research demonstrated that a variety of tuberculosis lesions types (with both high and low metabolic activity) are seen during latent infection and lesions with higher levels of metabolic activity were more likely to reactivate under immune suppression. In Phase II, Lin will study how these lesions evolve during early infection to determine what factors may be responsible for the development of active disease and latent infection.