Description du projet
Kit innovant de diagnostic de la résistance aux antimicrobiens
La résistance aux antimicrobiens (RAM) est une épidémie mondiale qui entraîne plus de 700 000 décès par an. Non seulement la RAM augmente la morbidité et prolonge les séjours à l’hôpital, mais elle entraîne également des dépenses médicales considérables. Bien que les cultures bactériennes constituent la méthode conventionnelle de diagnostic de la RAM, elles présentent des limites importantes. Des systèmes alternatifs tels que le séquençage de l’ADN ont vu le jour, mais ils nécessitent des équipements coûteux et du personnel formé. Pour relever ces défis, le projet ResisTEST, financé par l’UE, vise à tirer parti de l’expertise en biologie moléculaire pour proposer une méthode de détection rapide et très sensible de la RAM. Une fois transformée en kit de diagnostic, cette méthode permettra d’isoler et contrôler en temps réel l’expression de divers gènes de résistance sans nécessiter de connaissances préalables sur le pathogène.
Objectif
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a worldwide epidemic, causing more than for 700.000 deaths per year globally, expected to rise to 10 million deaths annually, by 2050. AMR is associated with an increase in morbidity, longer hospitalization time and a marked increase in the associated medical costs. While several attempts are being enforced to reduce the misuse and abuse of antibiotics, we are in dire needs of methods to rationalize the use of antibiotics. Currently, bacterial cultures are the staple diagnostic method of AMR. However, this method presents important drawbacks, such as a long turnaround time, which can be up to two weeks for some bacterial strains, low sensitivity, and the requirement to have, at least to a certain degree, prior information on the putative causative bacteria. All in all, these factors lead to the administration of wide-spectrum antibiotics in the meantime, leading to inefficient treatments, antibiotic changes and AMR occurrences. Hence, it is critical developing novel diagnostic methods offering a faster, high-sensitive alternative to bacterial cultures, the staple in AMR diagnostics. While several systems, such as DNA sequencing, are currently being developed, they require costly equipment and specialized training, limiting its use. In this regard, in ResisTEST we take advantage of our expertise in molecular biology and the knowledge and technology developed in an ERC StG to propose a fast, high-sensitive AMR detection approach that, once further developed into a diagnostic kit, will allow the isolation and real-time monitoring of the expression of different resistance gene without the need of prior knowledge on the pathogen. Therefore, this disruptive approach could represent a significant breakthrough in the fight against AMR, allowing to define, with unprecedented precision, the antibiotic of choice for the treatment of infections where AMR is suspected.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsDNA
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmolecular biology
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantInstitution d’accueil
08193 Cerdanyola Del Valles
Espagne