# Mouse models for paucibacillary persistence

> **NIH NIH U19** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2020 · $802,328

## Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy often fails to sterilize Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) resulting in 
individuals at risk of relapse TB. The mechanisms that allow Mtb to survive during paucibacillary persistent 
TB infections are for the most part unknown. Drug treatment and silencing of in vivo essential genes can 
cure acute and chronic Mtb infections in mice to the extent that CFU can no longer be detected on agar 
plates. However, as in humans, Mtb in these mice is often not sterilized and paucibacillary persistence 
eventually results in relapse of TB. We propose to develop a new animal model of paucibacillary persistence 
and use this model to identify the processes that Mtb requires to persist following apparent eradication. The 
proposed experiments will increase understanding of the mechanisms leading to paucibacillary persistence 
and will establish a model for studying paucibacillary disease and relapse in mice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9970383
- **Project number:** 5U19AI111143-07
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** SABINE EHRT
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $802,328
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-07-01 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9970383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9970383, Mouse models for paucibacillary persistence (5U19AI111143-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9970383. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*