University of 91吃瓜 engineers have joined forces with microbiologists at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, to further investigate a promising strategy for managing cystic fibrosis lung infections.
Cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that causes patients鈥� airways to fill with a thick and sticky mucus, affects many people around the world.
Ireland has the highest incidence per capita 鈥� triple that of the United States 鈥� and is home to a significant number of researchers who focus on this disease.
Treating cystic fibrosis lung infections is particularly challenging because they consist of biofilms 鈥� aggregates of bacteria encased in a gel-like matrix that are highly resistant to antibiotics.
笔谤别惫颈辞耻蝉濒测,听, environmental engineer and biofilms expert, and聽, a civil engineer,聽along with doctoral student聽Yanina Nahum, demonstrated how聽聽greatly increases the effectiveness of the antibiotics.
Now the researchers are partnering with聽, assistant professor of microbiology at Trinity College, to understand exactly how low-frequency ultrasound enhances antibiotic activity. Martins鈥� lab researches bacteria鈥檚 cellular and molecular mechanisms of defense against antimicrobials.聽
Nahum spent the summer in Ireland working in Martins鈥� lab, where she learned new methods for analyzing bacterial resistance to antibiotics, especially via efflux pumps.
鈥淲e know that low-frequency ultrasound is impairing the bacteria鈥檚 ability to defend themselves,鈥� said Nahum, 鈥渁nd now we have the techniques to better understand how they are doing that.鈥�
In addition to antibiotics, treatments for cystic fibrosis include the use of vibrating vests to loosen mucus from the lungs.
The researchers envision a possible new treatment that would incorporate low-frequency ultrasound into the vibrating vest. The ultrasound could then disable the biofilms鈥� defense mechanisms and increase the effectiveness of antibiotics. This synergistic effect is particularly important as a way to deal with advanced stages of the disease, when multidrug-resistant biofilms tend to develop.
Low-frequency ultrasound聽in combination with other types of antimicrobials may have applications beyond this project, Nerenberg said.
鈥淏iofilms grow on devices in hospitals, such as catheters, joint prosthetics and pacemakers,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a problem in pipes and water systems where pathogens like聽Legionella聽(the bacteria that cause Legionnaires鈥� disease) can grow.聽
鈥淏y looking at the fundamentals of biofilms 鈥� at the cellular level鈥� we can determine where this new approach can be used most effectively.鈥澛�