{"id":7494,"date":"2016-11-23T16:32:48","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T23:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/?p=7494"},"modified":"2019-08-01T08:08:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T14:08:11","slug":"usdod-funding-to-glyconet-antimicrobial-reasearch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/fr\/usdod-funding-to-glyconet-antimicrobial-reasearch\/","title":{"rendered":"US DoD awards US$1.5M to GlycoNet antimicrobial research program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Funding will\u00a0focus on the development of\u00a0antibiofilm therapeutics<\/span><\/p>\n

\"sheppardhowell_photo\"<\/p>\n

By Chardelle Prevatt\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

GlycoNet investigators, Dr. Donald Sheppard (a clinician scientist) and Dr. Lynne Howell (a structural biologist) have joined forces against bacterial and fungal pathogens responsible for pulmonary diseases.<\/p>\n

During a pulmonary infection, the pathogens\u00a0Pseudomonas aeruginosa<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Aspergillus fumigatus<\/em>\u00a0commonly\u00a0<\/em>form an exopolysaccharide-rich biofilm within lung tissues. Biofilms consist of microorganisms that adhere to each other and cell surfaces in a thick, slime-like matrix. These biofilms enable\u00a0disease-causing agents to\u00a0evade host immune defenses and heighten their resistance to antibiotics. Patients with compromised immune systems and chronic lung disease are particularly susceptible to these opportunistic, biofilm-coated pathogens. As a result, morbidity and mortality rates for these infections continue to soar.<\/p>\n

After successful preclinical trials, Drs. Sheppard and Howell, together with a team of leading experts, have discovered\u00a0potential therapeutic leads\u2014a set of enzymes called glycoside hydrolases that could help degrade and disrupt biofilm formation.<\/p>\n

“Our areas of expertise are highly complementary and the preliminary data has already generated some exciting results,” said Dr. Howell. “We have demonstrated that glycoside hydrolases can both prevent biofilm formation as well as disrupt existing biofilms at low concentrations\u00a0in vitro<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has recently awarded US$1.5 million to\u00a0further advance\u00a0preclinical studies of these leads. DoD funds, in addition to GlycoNet’s initial investment, will allow the investigators to optimize novel strategies to combat life-threatening pulmonary infections.<\/p>\n

“These enzymes [glycoside hydrolases] could be used as a monotherapy or in combination with other treatments to suppress infections often resistant to antibiotics,” added Dr. Sheppard.<\/p>\n

As experiments continue, the researchers are increasingly hopeful that this approach can be extended to develop treatments for non-pulmonary infections such as burn or wound infections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re thrilled at the opportunities that the DoD and GlycoNet funding present,\u201d Dr. Sheppard remarked. \u201cThis research will provide proof-of-concept for the use of glycoside hydrolase therapy for enhancing antibacterial and antifungal therapeutics.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Funding will\u00a0focus on the development of\u00a0antibiofilm therapeutics.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200],"tags":[73,74,12,75,76,77,13,78,79,80],"class_list":["post-7494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-antibiofilm-therapeutics","tag-antimicrobial","tag-bacteria","tag-chronic-lung-disease","tag-dod-funding","tag-donald-sheppard","tag-fungi","tag-glycoside-hydrolases","tag-lynne-howell","tag-pulmonary-infection","wpbf-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t