Scientist within the lab experimenting with the Drosophila mannequin. Credit score: IGTP
Researchers on the Germans Trias i Pujol Analysis Institute and Hospital have characterised and developed a brand new research mannequin utilizing Drosophila that can allow the analysis of assorted infectious brokers.
The Scientific and Experimental Microbiology Unit (UMCiE) on the Germans Trias i Pujol Analysis Institute (IGTP), in collaboration with the Comparative Medication and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia (CMCiB), a strategic mission of the institute, has spent years finding out and refining an infection methods in Drosophila melanogaster flies.
These organisms, generally referred to as fruit flies, current a number of experimental benefits. They’ve a brief life cycle, low upkeep prices, are simply genetically manipulated, and roughly 65% of their genes have human homologues, together with some shared physiological programs. Furthermore, utilizing Drosophila helps cut back the usage of vertebrate animals in analysis, offering an moral various for preliminary experiments.
UMCiE researchers are utilizing D. melanogaster as an experimental mannequin to judge new vaccines or antibiotics after demonstrating their efficacy in vitro (within the laboratory), earlier than transferring on to research involving animals corresponding to mice.
Lately, they’ve revealed two articles in Frontiers in Microbiology and Frontiers in Immunology, laying the groundwork for utilizing this mannequin for various infections and evaluating its innate immunity in opposition to infections by Candida albicans.
Drosophila melanogaster. Credit score: IGTP
The Frontiers in Microbiology article outlines the institution of the experimental an infection mannequin, reviewing a variety of research on the topic and detailing the analysis group’s expertise on this discipline. It describes all of the methods relevant, each for an infection and drug administration, and how one can consider them. The research encompasses the mannequin for various infections and serves as the muse for a platform that the group is creating to check new antibiotics.
Within the different article, UMCiE scientists assess innate immunity in opposition to infections by Candida albicans, a yeast inflicting challenging-to-treat infections in immunocompromised sufferers. They’ve analyzed the affect that enhanced immune response can have on the development of extremely virulent C. albicans infections. Paradoxically, though pre-immunization can management yeast development, it doesn’t stop the fly’s dying. This is because of an immune storm akin to what happens in some sufferers with COVID-19.
Thus, the proposed Drosophila mannequin additionally permits for the design of latest therapeutic approaches that not solely goal pathogen destruction but additionally think about drugs to manage uncontrolled immune responses, referred to as “host-directed therapies.” These may embody anti-inflammatory medication, corticosteroids, or different immunosuppressants.
Pere-Joan Cardona, chief of UMCiE at IGTP, head of the Microbiology Service at Germans Trias i Pujol College Hospital and CIBER of Respiratory Illnesses (CIBERES) member, states, “These publications mark a big milestone for the group in utilizing the Drosophila an infection mannequin.
“We have established a platform where we can quickly and cost-effectively evaluate various candidates against infectious agents, whether they be antibiotics or immunomodulatory drugs. This aligns with CMCiB’s mission to replace and reduce the use of laboratory animals like mice, representing a major achievement and positioning us as a reference group in this field.”
Extra data:
Maria Vidal et al, Drosophila melanogaster experimental mannequin to check new antimicrobials: a methodological method, Frontiers in Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1478263
Mariona Cortacans et al, Candida albicans an infection mannequin in Drosophila melanogaster suggests a strain-specific virulent issue boosting a stormy innate immune response, Frontiers in Immunology (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1474516
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A brand new experimental an infection mannequin in flies provides a quick and cost-effective method to take a look at medication (2024, November 15)
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