R01AI167284

Repurposing gram-positive antibiotics for gram-negative bacteria using antibiotic adjuvants - Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii infections present an enormous ongoing challenge to public health. Due to the frequent occurrence of multidrug resistance, current treatment options for A. baumannii infections are limited.

SS-lactam antibiotics, especially carbapenems, represent the treatment of choice for susceptible infections. However, carbapenem resistance is increasingly common, and for such infections there is no consensus on the optimal alternative treatment. Because resistance has hitherto been relatively uncommon, colistin has become a favored treatment in spite of the fact that deleterious side effects are common.

However, resistance to colistin in A. baumannii is becoming more frequent with the recent dissemination of plasmid-borne colistin resistance genes (MCR-1-10) into healthcare facilities. Unfortunately, the recent track record of discovery of new antibiotics that are active against gram-negative bacteria is exceedingly poor, which, coupled with the exit of big pharma from antibiotic discovery, has made the development of new therapies and non-traditional therapeutic approaches vital.

To combat this growing threat, we initiated a research program to identify small molecules, termed antibiotic adjuvants, that potentiate the activity of macrolides against MDR A. baumannii. To this end, we have successfully identified molecules that lower the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of clarithromycin up to 512-fold against all members of a panel of primary clinical A. baumannii isolates from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) that encompasses nearly all clinically relevant A. baumannii clades.

Adjuvants also potentiate the activity of vancomycin up to 256-fold. Both macrolides and vancomycin are typically viewed as "gram-positive" selective antibiotics due to their inability to cross the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. Mechanistic studies have led to a working hypothesis that these compounds overcome this barrier by increasing permeability of the outer membrane through inhibiting lipooligosaccharide (LOS) production.

Combinations of adjuvant with clarithromycin are effective in a Galleria mellonella model of infection, which has been shown to predict outcome in murine models of infection in the context of MDR A. baumannii. Therefore, combinations of such adjuvants with either clarithromycin or vancomycin may form the basis for an efficacious approach to treating MDR A. baumannii infections for which there are no effective antibiotics.

University Of Notre Dame Du Lac

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 380% from $769,579 to $3,690,863.