DevR (DosR) binding peptide inhibits adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis under hypoxia.

DevR is a key regulator of the dormancy response in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). Using DevR as bait to screen a phage display library, a peptide, DevRS1, was obtained. DevRS1 inhibited DevR-regulated transcription and survival of nonreplicating tubercle bacilli in a hypoxia model of dormancy. DevRS1 peptide-mediated inhibition demonstrates the efficacy of intercepting DevR function to block hypoxic adaptation of M. tb.