Overview

• The Trinity College Dublin team published ex vivo findings in Scientific Reports using human lung and blood-derived macrophages infected with M. tuberculosis.
• Dexamethasone reduced glycolysis and lowered production of cytokines including IL-1β, TNF, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 in the tested macrophages.
• Infected macrophages showed increased survival with dexamethasone treatment and a reduced intracellular bacterial burden.
• The team linked bacterial control to mechanisms involving autophagy and phagosomal acidification, with responses differing by macrophage tissue origin.
• The authors frame the results as rationale for evaluating targeted, adjunctive steroid strategies in TB, noting the work is preclinical and does not change current care.