Researchers from the Faculty of Biology at the Technion will develop a new approach to combating infectious diseases within the framework of the European consortium NanoBiCarThis is the first attempt to use molecules m for tuberculosis and other bacterial diseases in light of the serious problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics
A new European consortium, in which the research group of Prof. Yoram Reiter from the Faculty of Biology, will develop innovative treatments for bacterial infections in general and drug-resistant tuberculosis in particular. The NanoBiCar consortium includes researchers from universities and research institutes in Israel, Spain, the Netherlands and France. The project leaders in the Reiter Laboratory are the laboratory director, Dr. Mia Cohen, and Dr. Mia Lineal, who will do postdoctoral training as part of the project.
Bacterial infections cause about 20% of deaths worldwide, and tuberculosis is the deadliest disease caused by a single type of bacteria. According to the World Health Organization (October 2024), about 1.25 million people die from tuberculosis each year. Most cases of active tuberculosis (about 95%) are in the Third World; today, following the large waves of immigration to the West, this disease has spilled over into Europe. Tuberculosis patients are also occasionally discovered in Israel, which is why the National Tuberculosis Eradication Program was established in 1997.
Tuberculosis is an infectious and contagious disease that mainly affects the lungs, but it can also affect other organs, including the brain, spine, and kidneys. The causative agent of the disease is the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
As a result of the widespread use of antibiotics for tuberculosis, this bacterium has developed increasing resistance to antibiotic treatments. The new aggregator will address this challenge with new means, centered on mRNA molecules wrapped in fat particles. These combined particles will stimulate the immune system and cause it to attack the tuberculosis bacterium effectively and safely, without causing it to develop resistance.
The mRNA molecules have become known to the general public in the context of vaccines, especially during the Corona period, and the treatment to be developed within the framework of the consortium will be the first use of these molecules against bacterial diseases. In contrast to antibiotic treatment, which may harm vital bacterial populations and drive bacterial resistance, the new approach is based on the understanding that the human immune system is more specific, more effective and safer in treating bacteria, and the aforementioned treatment will only stimulate it to do its job. This is the approach that led to the development of immunotherapy – cancer treatment by “removing the brakes” on the immune system, a field in which Prof. Reiter has been involved for many years.
The consortium will examine treatment for the three stages of the disease – latent (a stage in which a quarter of the population is), acute, and chronic. Although the initial goal is to treat tuberculosis, the researchers estimate that the technology they will develop will be relevant to other bacterial infections and thus reduce the problematic use of antibiotics. The new treatment will also help patients with weakened immune systems and will be especially beneficial for vulnerable populations suffering from both increased morbidity and the lack of advanced medical services.
The consortium is funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe program under the EIC Pathfinder – an initiative designed to support basic research that is expected to pave the way for innovative technologies. This initiative focuses on projects that have significant risk, and therefore do not receive funding from the private sector, and promotes collaborations between researchers from different disciplines. This is a prestigious initiative that accepts only about 4% of the proposals that come to it, and the NanoBiCar consortium is one of 40 accepted in the current cycle out of more than a thousand submissions.
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