Effective cOmbination of Phages and Antibiotics for improved TheRApy of KLEbsiella pneumoniae
06/2023-05/2026
Funding programme / funding institution: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Germany
Grant number: 01KI2302B
Project description:
This project will investigate the suitability of combined bacteriophage and antibiotic approaches to reduce multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infections, particularly in humans. The project is concerned with the characterization of a K. pneumoniae strain collection corresponding to a One Helath approach. These strains will then be characterized in detail phaeotypically and genetically. In addition, available Klebsiella bacteriophages from the consortium will be sequenced to provide detailed information on the genetic basis of the phages. Furthermore, the genome information of the bacteria and phages will be used to create mathematical models that allow conclusions to be drawn about phage/host specificity. In the future, it should be possible to dispense with microbiological investigations in this respect, as these are very time-consuming. Further aspects of the project will deal with studies on depolymerase to determine its potential for enhancing bacteriophage use. The use of antibiotics with and without bacteriophage/depolymerase is to be determined in detail in further studies to enable improved efficiency of future therapeutic methods. As an innovative addition, the in vitro production of phages will be investigated to enable their use without complex purification steps in the field of human medicine. The aim of the project is to improve the control of multidrug resistant K. pneumoniae infections by a combined use of antibiotics and bacteriophages/depolymerases. The primary focus is a use in the human sector, but the project will be conducted in the sense of a One Health approach to evaluate the use in other sectors as well.
Coordination:
Universität Breslau
Project partners:
- Universität Breslau, Polen
- Katholische Universität Leuven, Belgien
- Sorbonne-Universität, Frankreich
- Institut für Mikrobiologie der Bundeswehr, Deutschland
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
- Invitris, Deutschland