Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33524021›Full record

ArticlePLoS pathogens2021

Capture and visualization of live Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli from tuberculosis patient bioaerosols.

Ryan Dinkele, Sophia Gessner, Andrea McKerry, Bryan Leonard, Ronnett Seldon, Anastasia S Koch, Carl Morrow, Melitta Gqada, Mireille Kamariza, Carolyn R Bertozzi and 9 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS pathogens, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

37 citing papers in PubMed, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Microbiology spectrum · 2026
    Article
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  4. Article
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  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. PersistentiScience · 2024
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Photoinactivation ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Article
  13. Article
  14. PersistentmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024
    Article
  15. The Titanic question in TB control: Should we worry about the bummock?Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
  16. Aerosolization of viableProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Ryan DinkeleSAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit & DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-6456-7530
Sophia GessnerSAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit & DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-0824-0079
Andrea McKerryDesmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Bryan LeonardDesmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Ronnett SeldonDesmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Anastasia S KochSAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit & DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Carl MorrowInstitute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-6059-1346
Melitta GqadaDesmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4191-674X
Mireille KamarizaDepartment of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-1255-0803
Carolyn R BertozziDepartment of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
Brian SmithEdge Embossing, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-6190-6269
Courtney McLoudEdge Embossing, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-2388-4219
Andrew KamholzEdge Embossing, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Wayne BrydenZeteo Tech, Sykesville, Maryland, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5477-7809
Charles CallZeteo Tech, Sykesville, Maryland, United States of America.
Gilla KaplanDepartment of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Valerie MizrahiSAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit & DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-4824-9115
Robin WoodInstitute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4276-7117
Digby F WarnerSAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit & DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4146-0930
Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation · ZASouth African Medical Research Council · ZAZeteo Tech (United States) · USHoward Hughes Medical Institute · USStanford University · USUniversity of Cape Town · ZA

Funding

Mycobacterial Sulfation PathwaysR01AI051622 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI BERTOZZI, CAROLYN · 2002 to 2015
$6.0M
Chemical MycobateriologyR37AI051622 · NIAID · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI BERTOZZI, CAROLYN · 2016 to 2025
$4.7M
Identifying TB transmitters in high TB/HIV burdened communitiesR01AI147347 · NIAID · DESMOND TUTU HIV FOUNDATION · PI WOOD, ROBIN · 2019 to 2023
$4.0M
Replisome dynamics in M tuberculosis_linking persistence to genetic resistanceU01HD085531 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN · PI WARNER, DIGBY FRANCIS, WOODGATE, ROGER · 2015 to 2019
$1.1M
Investigating a fluorogenic DMN-trehalose conjugate as a novel detection tool for Mycobacterium tuberculosisF31AI129359 · NIAID · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI KAMARIZA, MIREILLE · 2017 to 2018
$89k
Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNIAID NIH HHS F31 AI129359NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI051622NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI147347NIAID NIH HHS R37 AI051622NICHD NIH HHS U01 HD085531
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interrupting transmission is an attractive anti-tuberculosis (TB) strategy but it remains underexplored owing to our poor understanding of the events surrounding transfer of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) between hosts. Determining when live, infectious Mtb bacilli are released and by whom has proven especially challenging. Consequently, transmission chains are inferred only retrospectively, when new cases are diagnosed. This process, which relies on molecular analyses of Mtb isolates for epidemiological fingerprinting, is confounded by the prolonged infectious period of TB and the potential for transmission from transient exposures. We developed a Respiratory Aerosol Sampling Chamber (RASC) equipped with high-efficiency filtration and sampling technologies for liquid-capture of all particulate matter (including Mtb) released during respiration and non-induced cough. Combining the mycobacterial cell wall probe, DMN-trehalose, with fluorescence microscopy of RASC-captured bioaerosols, we detected and quantified putative live Mtb bacilli in bioaerosol samples arrayed in nanowell devices. The RASC enabled non-invasive capture and isolation of viable Mtb from bioaerosol within 24 hours of collection. A median 14 live Mtb bacilli (range 0-36) were isolated in single-cell format from 90% of confirmed TB patients following 60 minutes bioaerosol sampling. This represented a significant increase over previous estimates of transmission potential, implying that many more organisms might be released daily than commonly assumed. Moreover, variations in DMN-trehalose incorporation profiles suggested metabolic heterogeneity in aerosolized Mtb. Finally, preliminary analyses indicated the capacity for serial image capture and analysis of nanowell-arrayed bacilli for periods extending into weeks. These observations support the application of this technology to longstanding questions in TB transmission including the propensity for asymptomatic transmission, the impact of TB treatment on Mtb bioaerosol release, and the physiological state of aerosolized bacilli.

Indexed as

Breath TestsAdultCohort StudiesCoughHumansMicroscopy, FluorescenceMycobacterium tuberculosisNanotechnologyTuberculosis, Pulmonary

Identifiers

PMID33524021
PMCPMC7877778
OpenAlexW3126441187

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.