Join us for our next scheduled René Salazar Speaker Series talk held by LatinX@Broad:
"Bacteriophages as antimicrobial and immunomodulatory therapeutic alternatives."
Tuesday, September 19th, 2023
2:00 p.m. − 3:00 p.m
Zoom
Registration required via Zoom, to register please visit: http://broad.io/LatinX_Talks
Juan Camilo Farfán Esquivel
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem that causes more than 2.8 million infections in the U.S. annually, and it caused approximately 1.2 million deaths in 2019. This increasing problem has motivated the search for new therapeutic alternatives. Phage therapy is proposed to tackle antibacterial resistance. This alternative consists of using bacteriophages (phages-viruses of bacteria) to control bacterial populations. Phages have antibacterial properties that can be applied in different settings, including veterinary medicine, food and surface decontamination, and treatment of human infections. Besides, phages can interact with human and animal immune mechanisms, even though phages do not infect animal cells. Those interactions can lead to the modulation of immune responses,vwhich in turn may aid in clearing bacterial infections or regulate inflammatory reactions. However, the exact mechanism by which phages interact with thevimmune response is not fully understood. My research focusses on interactions between bacteria-phage-human cells in a phage therapy context to treat acne. This disease is characterised by its inflammatory nature and the involvement of the bacterium Cutibacterium acnes. Phage therapy can suit a dual therapeutical necessity, in which microbial dysbiosis correlated to an inflammatory disease can be addressed with the application of phages.
Questions? Email latinx-sc@broadinstitute.org
Email latinx-sc@broadinstitute.org
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