Investigation of host cell responses to intracellular pathogens using a cell culture model
Lead partner:
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Scientific management:
Herbert Wiesinger-Mayr
Additional participating institutions:
Universität für Weiterbildung Krems (Donau-Universität Krems)
Research field:
Biomedizin
Funding tool: Basic research projects
Project-ID: LS09-014
Project start: 01. September 2010
Project end: will follow
Runtime: 36 months / finished
Funding amount: € 265.000,00
Brief summary:
Sepsis is still a major cause of death of critically ill patients. Exact diagnosis can be a challenge due to overlapping symptoms with other inflammatory states.
Concern about the inaccuracy of microbiological diagnostic techniques to clearly recognize an infection and the impossibility of using such strategies to avoid over-prescription of antibiotics has led to the postulation to use biologic markers such as procalcitonin or interleukin-6 to improve recognition of patients with true infection and to facilitate treatment decisions and make them more effective.
However, current publications reveal discrepancies of physiological state of patients and the concentration of inflammation markers in blood. Furthermore, current studies do not consider intracellular pathogens which, however, are a frequent cause of infectious diseases.
The aim of this project is to apply a cell culture model to reveal host cell responses provoked by intracellular pathogen infections and to compare those responses with those of a modeled infection with gram negative bacteria. In detail, a sepsis cell culture model will be applied to investigate changes in biomarker secretion in order to correlate their concentration to the course of the disease. Further different antibiotics will be applied and screened for their efficiency to treat infections with intracellular pathogens. For realization of these intentions a DNA microarray for intracellular as well as fastidious pathogens will be developed and an antibody microarray for biomarker detection will be applied.
The project will result in a better understanding of intracellular infections. In addition, a diagnostic tool for the identification of intracellular pathogens and for monitoring the course of disease will be developed which facilitates an appropriate therapy.
Keywords:
sepsis, intracellular pathogens, cell culture model,