Boosting respiratory innate immunity to treat pneumonia caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria – BIP

Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity/mortality worldwide. Antibiotics constitute the standard of care but face with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the curative failure. The project aims at assessing an adjunct to antibiotic therapy as an emerging concept of overcome AMR. The project leverages (i) unique immunomodulatory flagellin that enhances airway epithelial immune defenses and increases the therapeutic outcome relative to an antibiotic, and (ii) airway-specific delivery by inhalation/nebulization. The objectives are to (1) demonstrate that flagellin strengthens the response to antibiotics in preclinical models of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia, and (2) identify host immune factors required for the gain of protection with systems biology. Outcomes include the enrichment of the pipeline of novel treatments against pneumonia, the reinforcement of the capacity to control AMR, the development of new avenues of research on the mode of action of flagellin.