UVa creates virtual bacteria to shed light on cystic fibrosis infections

The two species of bacteria are genetically similar – both contagious, both drug resistant, both preying upon people with cystic fibrosis or weakened immune systems – yet they go about their sinister work very differently. There is much to be learned both from how they are alike and how they differ, and so researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have recreated them in electronic form, building an elaborate computer model of each so that scientists can better understand them, better compare them and find new and better ways to stop them. The new metabolic model lets scientists examine Burkholderia cenocepacia and Burkholderia multivorans like never before. Both are multi-drug resistant bacteria that pose a threat to patients with cystic fibrosis, setting up in their lungs and contributing to the rapid deterioration of the lungs and overall health. Once colonized, they are very difficult to eradicate and can contribute to other infections and lead to death. “For these two particular bugs, there’s not a lot known and they have only recently been appreciated as important pathogens in the cystic fibrosis lung,” said UVA researcher Jason Papin, PhD, whose lab created the new metabolic simulations. “We want to be able to use the models to predict good drug targets, to try to understand why the pathogen behaves the way it does, to understand how it’s going to evolve under pressure of antibiotics. These bugs have a lot of natural antibiotic-resistanc...
Source: Cystic Fibrosis Worldwide Blog - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Research and Discovery Source Type: blogs