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CoRe Defense: fortifying the resident gut microbiota’s colonization resistance to combat intestinal bacterial infections.

Project description

Understanding individual susceptibility in intestinal microbiota colonisation resistance

We rely on antibiotics to treat life-threatening gastrointestinal bacterial infections, but individual susceptibility to these infections varies. Understanding these differences could help reduce both infections and antibiotic use. With this in mind, the ERC-funded CoRe Defense project aims to develop a method for selecting personalised bacterial consortia to prevent campylobacteriosis. The project will focus on colonisation resistance, the mechanism by which the intestinal microbiota protects itself against new microorganisms. It will explore ecological niches and competitors through metabolic modelling, screen for growth-inhibiting bacterial strains using a new in vitro co-culturing platform and test colonisation resistance predictions in mice with a human microbiome. The project seeks to provide groundbreaking insights into the factors influencing bacterial infection susceptibility.

Objective

Currently, we rely on antibiotics to combat potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) bacterial infections. However, the susceptibility to infection and the severity of symptoms can vary significantly among individuals exposed to the same pathogen.1–3 If we could unravel the factors responsible for differences in infection susceptibility, we could formulate strategies to reduce the incidence of symptomatic infections, ultimately saving lives and reducing the need for antibiotics. Traditionally, researchers have approached this puzzle from two main perspectives: a human-centered view, delving into the intricacies of the host immune system, or a pathogen-centered view, scrutinizing variations in bacterial strains. With CoRe defense, I advocate for a paradigm shift by adopting a microbiota-centered perspective. This approach is grounded in the concept of colonization resistance, the mechanism whereby the intestinal microbiota protects itself against incursion by new microorganisms. Despite their tremendous potential to prevent and treat bacterial infections, microbial alternatives to antibiotics are still spread thin as we currently lack adequate methods to select potential candidates. My aim is to develop a method for the selection of personalized bacterial consortia capable of preventing Campylobacteriosis. I will do so by investigating its ecological niche and competitors through metabolic modelling, screen for growth reducing bacterial strains or consortia using a newly developed in vitro co-culturing platform, and test colonization resistance predictions of a simple model based on these in silico and in vitro results in human-microbiome associated mice. By investigating the protective function of the microbiota, I will generate ground-breaking findings that will transform our understanding on factors governing bacterial infection susceptibility. It will usher in an era where we view bacteria not only as the problem but also as part of the solution.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG

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Host institution

VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 922 876,12
Address
PLEINLAAN 2
1050 BRUSSEL
Belgium

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Region
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale/Arr. Brussel-Hoofdstad
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 922 876,13

Beneficiaries (2)

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