INTEGRATE — Interdisciplinary Training Network for Validation of Gram-Negative Antibacterial Targets

Results in brief

Interdisciplinary Training Network for Validation of Gram-Negative Antibacterial Targets

Antimicrobial resistance is posing a continuously-rising threat to global health. One key recommendation from the recent “Action plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance” report (the Commission to the European Parliament and Council (15.11.2011)) is the development of effective antimicrobials or alternatives for treatment of human and animal infections. The INTEGRATE project is a direct response to this. We have assembled a team of ten beneficiaries from eight EU member states, encompassing both academic and nonacademic sectors and different disciplines, to form a consortium committed to train Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in the discovery and preclinical validation of novel Gram-negative antibacterial targets and agents. The principal objective of the consortium was to provide a training platform where students are exposed to every aspect of the antimicrobial discovery process, ranging from target identification and validation, through organic synthesis, in silico design and compound screening, to mode-of-action and possible resistance mechanisms. This exposure was supported by a concrete secondment plan, coupled with a series of high-level consortium-wide training events and networking programs. The INTEGRATE project foresaw four main scientific objectives to tackle down multidrug resistant bacteria: 1) identifying and optimizing novel chemotypes; 2) establishing new tools and resources for antibacterial drug discovery; 3) validating non-canonical targets for combating Gram-negative bacterial infections; 4) strengthening inter-sectorial and multidisciplinary collaborations towards discovery of new antibacterial agents. Through this, INTEGRATE contributed to overcoming the fragmentation of approaches that often characterize drug discovery and trained 11 ESRs in a multi-disciplinary environment. The training-through-research part of INTEGRATE focused on several gram-negative targets, not yet exploited clinically, for which we intended to clarify their potential relevance in the bacterial fitness, and for which we intended to progress a series of small-molecules lead candidates for further development. The training-through-research plan is flanked by an active program of soft-skill acquisition and by a dissemination plan to increase the general awareness on the importance of basic research to fight bacterial infections

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Antimicrobial resistance is posing a continuously-rising threat to global health. Indeed, one key recommendation from the recent “Action plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance” report (submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament and Council (15.11.2011)) is the development of effective antimicrobials or alternatives for treatment of human and animal infections. The INTEGRATE project is a direct response to this. We have assembled a team of 10 beneficiaries from eight EU member states, encompassing both academic and non-academic sectors and different disciplines, to form a consortium committed to training Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in the discovery and preclinical validation of novel Gram-negative antibacterial agents and antibacterial targets. The principle aim of the consortium is to provide a training platform where students are exposed to every aspect of the antimicrobial discovery process, ranging from target identification and validation, through organic synthesis, in silico design and compound screening, to mode-of-action and possible resistance mechanisms. This exposure will be accomplished through a concrete secondment plan, coupled with a series of high-level consortium-wide training events and networking programmes. Our intention is to reverse the current fragmentation of approaches towards antibacterial discovery through mutual cooperation. The INTEGRATE training framework is built on an innovative research project aimed at targeting important but non-essential gene products as an effective means of reducing bacterial fitness, thereby facilitating clearance of the pathogen by the host immune system. To achieve this, the individual work programmes have been designed to seamlessly inter-mesh contributions from the fields of in silico design, organic synthesis, molecular biology and biochemistry, and the very latest in vitro and in vivo screening technologies.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PARMA · PARMACoordinatorItaly
APTUIT (VERONA) SRL · VERONAItaly
CSC-TIETEEN TIETOTEKNIIKAN KESKUS OY · EspooFinland
FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV · MunchenGermany
Finnish Patent and Registration Office · HelsinkiFinland
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · HelsinkiFinland
ITA-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO · KUOPIOFinland
LATVIJAS ORGANISKAS SINTEZES INSTITUTS · RigaLatvia
Matera, Lda · CantanhedePortugal
TAMPEREEN KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR · TampereFinland
TAROS CHEMICALS GMBH & CO KG · DortmundGermany
THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · CAMBRIDGEUnited Kingdom
UNIVERSITEIT ANTWERPEN · AntwerpenBelgium
UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI · LjubljanaSlovenia

INTEGRATE · Interdisciplinary Training Network for Validation of Gram-Negative Antibacterial Targets

Results in brief

Interdisciplinary Training Network for Validation of Gram-Negative Antibacterial Targets

Project objective

Participants

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