Wimmi, Stephan - CAP 48

Within the CMMC and with the CAP program, we want to study S. maltophilia and to understand which molecular processes allow it to colonize its local niche and cause an infection. To do so, we focus on the T4SS depended bacterial killing and antibiotic efflux pumps and investigate their function, regulation, and response to different environmental cues using a combination of molecular microbiology, biochemistry, and biophysical methods.  

S. maltophilia is an opportunistic human pathogen with a global environmental distribution. In the clinical context, it's often acquired via nosocomial and community-acquired infections in immunocompromised patients. Here, it presents with a wide range of disease patterns, a high intrinsic antibiotic resistance, and a substantial mortality rate. Its T4SS is one of its central pathogenicity factors and has been shown to have anti-apoptotic effects on human lung epithelial cells while at the same time inducing apoptosis in macrophages. In addition, the T4SS has been shown to kill off competing Gram-negative bacteria like K. pneumonia, Salmonella Typhi, and P. aeruginosa in a contact-dependent manner. Overall, dissecting the impact of S. maltophilias T4SS on infections and competition will bring us closer to understanding and combating infections with this already multi-resistant human pathogen.