Susceptibility to infection: How do bacteria and viruses manage to remain in the body?
Some pathogenic bacteria or viruses take hold in the human body: they persist in sites including the lung, liver or on implants. Chronic infections of this nature represent significant medical challenges, for example in people who suffer from cystic fibrosis. Biofilms form in their lungs; these are well organized microbial communities that are protected from the body’s immune defences and from antibiotics.
Lungs of CF patients are colonised by Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, which cause pneumonia and ultimately compromise the lives of those affected. Dental and other implants, too, may be colonised by biofilms consisting of many different bacteria.
But how can the bacteria living in biofilms survive, and why are they so resistant to therapeutic agents? What part does the immune system play here? Why are these infections mild in some people but severe in others? Is there a connection with the human microbiome? RESIST analyses the underlying mechanisms so that the severity of an infection and antibiotic tolerance can be predicted and drugs targeting those bacteria can be discovered in future.