The UN World Health Organization reported that antibiotic resistant infections currently are the second cause of death worldwide and predicts that antibiotic resistance will be responsible for 10 million deaths per year by 2050 and a cumulative loss to the world’s GDP of $100 trillion if no adequate measures are undertaken. Hence, tackling antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections is one of the major societal challenges of this moment, and there is an urgent need for novel methods to control bacterial diseases.
At CMET, we investigate novel strategies to control (antibiotic resistant) bacterial infections by unravelling bacterial disease mechanisms and developing strategies to interfere with these mechanisms (i.e. antivirulence therapy). Target pathogens include pathogens of aquatic organisms (Vibrio spp.) and human pathogens (like pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella). Mechanisms under study include bacterial cell-to-cell communication (quorum sensing) and sensing of host and environmental cues. We study the impact of these mechanisms on the production of virulence factors (phenotypes that are required to cause infection) and on virulence in model host systems. Agents that are studied in order to interfere with these signaling and detection mechanisms include small molecules (natural and synthetic) and microorganisms producing specific enzymes or metabolites. We also take into account the ecology of bacterial pathogens in order to develop strategies to prevent disease.