Targeting chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infections

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed experiments aim to identify novel anti-bacterial drug targets for treatment of chronic wound infections and to carry out screens for small molecule inhibitors of several such targets. To accomplish this goal, we exploit three tools: 1) a newly developed diabetic mouse wound model in which healing is delayed due to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm infection, 2) a genome-scale genetic approach (Tn- seq) that can identify bacterial functions required for wound infection persistence, and 3) highly sensitive methodology employing mass spectrometry to identify proteins induced in wound infections that may include persistence functions missed by Tn-seq. Potential drug targets will be prioritized using a battery of tests thought to reflect infection. Screening strains designed to detect inhibitors of the three top targets will then be constructed and employed for screening a 200,000 chemical library.