BactInfectERA

Bacterial sepsis is recognised as a global health priority. 3 million patients are estimated to be afflicted every year. Sepsis is often fatal, accounting for over 9 million lives lost annually and 4 to 6 millions of those who survive severe sepsis are more likely to develop heavy sequelae.

Current clinical approaches designed to control dysregulated systemic inflammation, intravascular coagulation and microvascular damages that lead to multi-organ failure and lethality have yielded limited success. There is thus an urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches to prevent the severe microvascular consequences of sepsis and improve the effectiveness of medical intervention. BactInfectERA examined Neisseria meningitidis, also known as meningococcus, as an example of an invasive extracellular pathogenic bacterium that interacts with microvessels and causes thrombotic lesions.

On the bacterial side, the study identified the genes essential for the colonisation of the human endothelium and for the virulence of the bacterium. It showed that vascular colonisation by meningococcus is a prerequisite for the establishment of septicaemia and lethality. On the host side, the study revealed important cellular and molecular mechanisms that cause vascular dysfunction and coagulation processes in infected tissues. Finally, it identified a new therapeutic strategy. This aims to target an important bacterial virulence factor, type IV pili, in order to reduce the harmful effects of the infection.