Veranstaltung - VT03252 - VTT004583

The Unexplored property of Antihistamines as anti-invectives

The Unexplored property of Antihistamines as anti-invectives: From Drug Development to Mode of Action

Referent: Prof. Dr. Yossef Av-Gay, University of British Columbia, UBC Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) causes over 1.2 million deaths each year worldwide. Current TB treatments involve a combination of long and complex treatment schedules often result in side effects. As such, there is critical need for new treatment strategies. One promising approach is termed host-directed therapy (HDT) which enhance the patient’s own capacity to control infection.

We have identified benztropine (BZT), a drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, as having strong HDT against Mtb in macrophages and mice infection models by inhibiting the histamine receptor, HR1, a receptor target by antihistamines in allergy medications1. Our finding that antihistamines inhibit Mtb growth align with multiple previous studies, including a 1949 clinical study, which demonstrated that antihistamines resulted in substantial clinical improvements when used to treat pulmonary TB. Together, these findings suggest that antihistamine drugs could be repurposed as HDT for both TB prevention and treatment. Antihistamines are safe, affordable, and widely available

Termin: Mittwoch 21. Oktober 2026, 19.00 – 20.00 Uhr
Ort: Hörsaal Pharmazie, Wolfgang-Langenbeck-Straße 4, 06120 Halle