Publications by Andrej Benjak | EPFL Graph Search

Gene expression patterns associated with multidrug therapy in multibacillary leprosy

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi, Thyago Leal Calvo

Multidrug therapy (MDT) has been successfully used in the treatment of leprosy. However, although patients are cured after the completion of MDT, leprosy reactions, permanent disability, and occasional relapse/reinfection are frequently observed in patient ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2022

A new paradigm for leprosy diagnosis based on host gene expression

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi, Thyago Leal Calvo

Author summary ...

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE2021

Emergence of Mycobacterium leprae Rifampin Resistance Evaluated by Whole-Genome Sequencing after 48 Years of Irregular Treatment

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi

A case of Mycobacterium leprae rifampin resistance after irregular antile- prosy treatments since 1971 is reported. Whole-genome sequencing from four longi- tudinal samples indicated relapse due to acquired rifampin resistance and not to re- infection with ...

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY2020

6,11-Dioxobenzo[f]pyrido[1,2-a]indoles Kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Targeting Iron-Sulfur Protein Rv0338c (IspQ), A Putative Redox Sensor

Kai Johnsson, Stewart Cole, Monica Rengifo Gonzalez, Edina Rita Székely, Andrej Benjak, Jérémie Piton

Screening of a diversity-oriented compound library led to the identification of two 6,11-dioxobenzo[f]pyrido[1,2-a]indoles (DBPI) that displayed low micromolar bactericidal activity against the Erdman strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro. The acti ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2020

Genomic Characterization of Mycobacterium lepraeto Explore Transmission Patterns Identifies New Subtype in Bangladesh

Stewart Cole, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi

Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, is an unculturable bacterium with a considerably reduced genome (3.27 Mb) compared to homologues mycobacteria from the same ancestry. In 2001, the genome ofM. lepraewas first described and subsequently ...

Frontiers Media SA2020

New 2-Ethylthio-4-methylaminoquinazoline derivatives inhibiting two subunits of cytochrome bc1 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Stewart Cole, Shi-Yan Caroline Foo, Anthony Vocat, Andrej Benjak, Jérémie Piton, Andréanne Lupien

The emergence of multi-drug (MDR-TB) and extensively-drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a major threat to the global management of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. New chemical entities are of need to treat drug-resistant TB. In this study, the mode of ac ...

2020

Population Genomics of Mycobacterium leprae Reveals a New Genotype in Madagascar and the Comoros

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Pushpendra Singh, Stefanie Boy-Röttger, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi, Thyago Leal Calvo

Human settlement of Madagascar traces back to the beginning of the first millennium with the arrival of Austronesians from Southeast Asia, followed by migrations from Africa and the Middle East. Remains of these different cultural, genetic, and linguistic ...

Frontiers Media SA2020

Multicenter analysis of sputum microbiota in tuberculosis patients

Stewart Cole, Claudia Sala, Jacques Rougemont, Philippe Busso, Marion Leleu, Andrej Benjak

The impact of tuberculosis and of anti-tuberculosis therapy on composition and modification of human lung microbiota has been the object of several investigations. However, no clear outcome has been presented so far and the relationship betweenM.tuberculos ...

2020

Essential Nucleoid Associated Protein mIHF (Rv1388) Controls Virulence and Housekeeping Genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Stewart Cole, Claudia Sala, Andrej Benjak, Nina Theres Odermatt

Tight control of gene expression is crucial for Mycobacterium tuberculosis to adapt to the changing environments encountered when infecting or exiting human cells. While three nucleoid associated proteins (NAPs) EspR, HupB and Lsr2 have been investigated, ...

Nature Research2018

Ancient genomes reveal a high diversity of Mycobacterium leprae in medieval Europe

Stewart Cole, Pushpendra Singh, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi

2018

EspL is essential for virulence and stabilizes EspE, EspF and EspH levels in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Stewart Cole, Claudia Sala, Andrej Benjak, Nina Theres Odermatt, Sofia Ulrika Magnusdotter Von Schultz, Paloma Julia Soler Arnedo

The ESX-1, type VII, secretion system represents the major virulence determinant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, one of the most successful intracellular pathogens. Here, by combining genetic and high-throughput approaches, we show that EspL, a protein of 1 ...

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE2018

Highly Reduced Genome of the New Species Mycobacterium uberis, the Causative Agent of Nodular Thelitis and Tuberculoid Scrotitis in Livestock and a Close Relative of the Leprosy Bacilli

Stewart Cole, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi

Nodular thelitis is a chronic enzootic infection affecting dairy cows and goats. The causative agent was recently shown to be related to the leprosy-causing bacilli Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. In this study, the genome of this path ...

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY2018

Phylogenomics and antimicrobial resistance of the leprosy bacillus Mycobacterium leprae

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Pushpendra Singh, Chloé Marie Loiseau, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi, Andréanne Lupien

Nature Research2018

Ancient Mycobacterium leprae genomes reveal an unexpected diversity of leprosy in medieval Europe

Stewart Cole, Pushpendra Singh, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi

WILEY2018

Arylvinylpiperazine Amides, a New Class of Potent Inhibitors Targeting QcrB of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Stewart Cole, Raphael Christopher Sommer, Shi-Yan Caroline Foo, Anthony Vocat, Andrej Benjak, Jérémie Piton, Andréanne Lupien

New drugs are needed to control the current tuberculosis (TB) pandemic caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We report here on our work with AX-35, an arylvinylpiperazine amide, and four related analogs, which are potent antitubercular agent ...

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY2018

Rv3852 (H-NS) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is Not Involved in Nucleoid Compaction and Virulence Regulation

Gaëlle Séraphine Kolly, Stewart Cole, Claudia Sala, Anthony Vocat, Andrej Benjak, Nina Theres Odermatt, Andréanne Lupien

A handful of nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) regulate the vast majority of genes in a bacterial cell. H-NS, the histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein, is one of these NAPs and protects Escherichia coli from foreign gene expression. Though lacking a ...

American Society for Microbiology2017

Insights from the Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium lepraemurium: Massive Gene Decay and Reductive Evolution

Stewart Cole, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi

Mycobacterium lepraemurium is the causative agent of murine leprosy, a chronic, granulomatous disease similar to human leprosy. Due to the similar clinical manifestations of human and murine leprosy and the difficulty of growing both bacilli axenically, My ...

Amer Soc Microbiology2017

Whole genome sequencing distinguishes between relapse and reinfection in recurrent leprosy cases

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Pushpendra Singh, Chloé Marie Loiseau, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi, Jérémie Piton

Background Since leprosy is both treated and controlled by multidrug therapy (MDT) it is important to monitor recurrent cases for drug resistance and to distinguish between relapse and reinfection as a means of assessing therapeutic efficacy. All three obj ...

Public Library Science2017

Essentiality of mmpL3 and impact of its silencing on Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene expression

Stewart Cole, Andrej Benjak

MmpL3 is an inner membrane transporter of Mycobacterium tuberculosis responsible for the export of trehalose momomycolate, a precursor of the mycobacterial outer membrane component trehalose dimycolate (TDM), as well as mycolic acids bound to arabinogalact ...

Nature Research2017

Red squirrels in the British Isles are infected with leprosy bacilli

Stewart Cole, Philippe Busso, Chloé Marie Loiseau, Andrej Benjak, Charlotte Avanzi, Jérémie Piton

Leprosy, caused by infection with Mycobacterium leprae or the recently discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis, was once endemic in humans in the British Isles. Red squirrels in Great Britain (Sciurus vulgaris) have increasingly been observed with leprosy-li ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science2016