Project description
Harnessing the body’s defence mechanisms to fight antimicrobial resistance
Antibiotic misuse and overuse have led to the emergence and rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) where bacteria no longer respond to antibiotics. With millions of deaths annually linked to drug-resistant bacteria, new approaches are urgently needed to preserve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BactErase project aims to develop an innovative host-directed therapy that boosts the body’s natural ability to clear infections. This treatment utilises a bacteria-specific probe and nanoparticles that target infected cells and aims to activate autophagy in macrophages. The rationale is to help the body destroy intracellular pathogens without relying on traditional antibiotics and thereby reduce the risk of increasing AMR development.
Objective
Antimicrobials are the cornerstone of modern medicine, essential for treating millions of people worldwide. Without effective antibiotics, even minor surgeries and routine operations could become high-risk procedures due to untreatable infections. Antimicrobials save lives and contribute, on average, 20 years to global life expectancy. However, the overuse of these drugs and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are severely diminishing their therapeutic effects, making treatment increasingly difficult or even impossible. This phenomenon, known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is a growing health crisis that threatens to undermine the foundation of medical treatment that doctors, patients and public have come to rely on. Currently, an estimated 4.95 million deaths per year are associated with drug-resistant pathogens, with 1.27 million directly attributed to bacterial pathogens resistant to existing antibiotics. Hence, to address this urgent health challenge, new strategies are critically needed to contain, control and mitigated the spread of AMR. In this respect, BactErase proposes a novel host-directed therapy that leverage the natural ability of resident macrophage to utilize macroautophagy - a process that cells use to degrade and recycle intracellular components - to eradicate intracellular invaders. The primary goal of this proposal is to develop a bacteria-specific probe that can uniquely discriminate the bacteria within the cells and to design nanoparticles preferentially targeting infected cells. This approach aims to enhance the host’s intrinsic ability to resolve drug-recalcitrant infections while minimizing the risk of antimicrobial resistance development. By exploiting the host’s own mechanisms for bacterial clearance in conjunction with selective nanoparticle delivery, BactErase offers an attractive alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy, potentially remodulating the treatment of infectious disease.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine surgery
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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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.
08028 Barcelona
Spain
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.