UC team receives $7M to develop probiotics against CF lung infections
Goal is to help prevent growth of infectious bacteria like Pseudomonas
An agency of the National Institutes of Health has awarded funding up to $7 million to researchers at the University of California (UC) to study the use of probiotics to treat lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF).
The funding comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The goal of the UC project, called PROTECT, is to treat lung infections by building a community of beneficial lung microorganisms that can outcompete disease-causing agents. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that fight off harmful microbes and boost immunity against infections.
“This research could pave the way for a new modality to optimize dosing and monitor lung health, particularly for individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis,” Karsten Zengler, PhD, professor at UC San Diego and co-principal investigator of the study, said in a university press release. “If successful, this technology will revolutionize how we approach microbe-related illnesses.”
Probiotic formulations to be investigated as an alternative to antibiotics
Lung infections are a common problem in people with CF, a disease characterized by the accumulation of thick and sticky mucus in the lungs. This buildup causes inflammation and provides the ideal environment for the growth of infectious bacteria.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria often found in the environment, is a major contributor to serious lung infections in CF patients. These infections are linked to rapid lung function decline and sudden worsening of lung symptoms, also known as exacerbations. Moreover, chronic lung infections are a leading cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia, another unmet need in CF.
Such infections are commonly treated with antibiotics, but resistance to such treatment — dubbed antibiotic resistance — makes alternative therapies necessary.
We are excited to begin this important endeavor and grateful to ARPA-H for their vision. … This project represents an innovative strategy to tackle infectious diseases in ways previously unexplored.
In the PROTECT project, which stands for Pro/Prebiotic Regulation for Optimized Treatment and Eradication of Clinical Threats, the researchers aim to identify bacteria from the lung microbiome — the community of microorganisms normally living in the lungs — of healthy individuals. The team will particularly focus on bacteria that are able to degrade substances that disease-causing microorganisms, particularly Pseudomonas, need to grow and survive.
Then, genetic and functional analysis will be performed to understand microbial interactions and traits, and to develop effective probiotic formulations. Finally, the new formulations will be tested in CF mouse models to obtain probiotic compositions that can advance to the clinic.
The project will be co-led by Adam P. Arkin, PhD, professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley, and is expected to run for four years, with a maximum budget of $22.7 million. Initially focusing on CF and bronchiectasis — a condition also characterized by mucus buildup where the airways of the lungs become widened — the project may in the future be useful in developing treatments for other diseases, according to the investigators.
“We are excited to begin this important endeavor and grateful to ARPA-H for their vision,” Zengler said. “This project represents an innovative strategy to tackle infectious diseases in ways previously unexplored.”
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