Research

Research:

During persistent infection of the cystic fibrosis lung, Pseudomonas aeruginosa forms microcolonies in patient mucus and generates a local microaerobic to anaerobic environment. Microaerobic to anaerobic conditions also dominate in P. aerugionsa biofilms. Recent data indicates that anaerobic biofilms mirror the growth conditions of observed P. aerugionsa microcolonies during infection.

Research focus:

• Investigation of P. aeruginosa metabolism under conditions mimicking a chronic infection using an artificial sputum medium.
• Characterization of the regulatory networks with focus on anaerobic regulation and stringent control.
• Impact and biological function of Universal Stress Proteins during chronic infection.

The opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause severe acute and chronic infections. Especially in immuno-compromised patients P. aeruguinosa is able to cause infections of the lungs, the conjunctiva and the urinary tracts. Normally, urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli and other Enterobacteriaceae and only in about 12 % of the cases by P. aeruginosa. However, in accordance to the enormous physiological diversity and the high virulence of P. aeruginosa, the infections caused by this organism have often a progressive course. Moreover, P. aeruginosa is characterized by a high intrinsic resistance to a wide range of antibiotics and the ability to develop high-level multidrug resistance during antibiotic therapy.

In a project funded by the BMBF in vitro models are developed to study urinary tract infections in the lab. With a systems biology approach, data from genome, proteome-, transcriptome- and metabolome-analysis will be raised and compared to admit conclusions on the physiology, the virulence and the antibiotic resistance mechanisms of P. aeruginosa and moreover, get an inside in the underlying regulatory networks, which play a role during urinary tract infections.

Research Focus

• Characterization of urethral P. aeruginosa isolates
• Investigation of the P. aeruginosa adaptation to the conditions in the urinary tract by a systems biology approach
• Characterization of the infection relevant regulatory networks
• Investigation of the influence of urethral conditions to the antibiotic tolerance of P. aeruginosa

The research is funded by the BMBF project "Medizinische Infektionsgenomik"

http://www.medizinische-infektionsgenomik.de