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Center for Microbial Pathogenesis

Biofilms: The Good, the Bad & the Groundbreaking
 Biofilms: The Good, the Bad & the Groundbreaking 1024 615 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Decades of research into the structure and function of bacterial biofilms have begun to pay off in the form of imminent clinical applications capable of harnessing both the protective and problematic aspects of this universal phenomenon. Imagine a hospital emergency department filled with patients — those with painful ear infections, recurrent urinary tract infections, fevers…

Probiotics Delivered in Biofilm State Protect the Intestines and Brain in NEC Model
 Probiotics Delivered in Biofilm State Protect the Intestines and Brain in NEC Model 898 504 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Biofilm formulation of Limosilactobacillus reuteri protects against necrotizing enterocolitis in piglet model.  Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a debilitating and deadly condition affecting infants born preterm. In NEC cases, intestinal tissues become inflamed, and in severe cases, there is ischemia and death of the involved intestines. Treatment for NEC often involves surgery to remove the dying…

CFTR Modulation Therapy Improves Markers of Inflammation and Lung Function in Cystic Fibrosis
 CFTR Modulation Therapy Improves Markers of Inflammation and Lung Function in Cystic Fibrosis 1024 575 Jessica Nye, PhD
By: Jessica Nye, PhD
Illustration of lungs on blue silhouette of upper chest on black background

Six months of elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor (ETI) therapy significantly reduced proinflammatory cytokines, increased immune cell composition, and improved clinical outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF).   “Cystic fibrosis is a progressive lung disease that carries significant morbidity,” says Shahid Sheikh, MD, of the Pulmonary Medicine and Allergy/Immunology section at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a professor at The Ohio…

Featured Researcher — Juhi Bagaitkar, PhD
 Featured Researcher — Juhi Bagaitkar, PhD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Juhi Bagaitkar, PhD, a principal investigator in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, studies how immune cells and barrier epithelial cells (the cells that cover all internal and external surfaces in the body) protect their human “hosts,” interact with each other and fall prey to…

Stress Increases Systemic Inflammation and Anxiety in Mouse Model of IBD
 Stress Increases Systemic Inflammation and Anxiety in Mouse Model of IBD 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

Exposure to stress did not induce a relapse in colitis in the mice. In a new study, researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Abigail Wexner Research Institute tested whether exposure to stress would lead to flares of intestinal inflammation in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease. They found stress did not exacerbate colitis…

Featured Researcher — Steve Goodman, PhD
 Featured Researcher — Steve Goodman, PhD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Steven D. Goodman, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His research centers on bacterial biofilms — interactive ecosystems of bacteria that form a structure to help the bacteria thrive and fight off threats. These biofilms can be found wherever bacteria…

Biofilm Bacteria Protected by a Form of DNA Resistant to Current Treatments
 Biofilm Bacteria Protected by a Form of DNA Resistant to Current Treatments 150 150 Lauren Bakaletz, PhD and Steve Goodman, PhD
By: Lauren Bakaletz, PhD and Steve Goodman, PhD

Researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital identify a structural component of the bacterial biofilm matrix in a novel discovery published in Cell that has strong implications as to how biofilms resist current treatments and how to create new therapeutics that will be effective.   Biofilms are communities of bacteria that are protected by an extracellular matrix…

Probiotic Treatment Promotes Neurodevelopment After Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis
 Probiotic Treatment Promotes Neurodevelopment After Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis 777 640 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck
B&W image of Dr. Gail Besner posing for a photo in her lab coat

A single dose of a novel live probiotic therapeutic protects the rodent brain during early development and the effects persist into adolescence. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have demonstrated that when given in a biofilm state, probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri prevents the detrimental neurodevelopmental sequalae of experimental necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).1 The findings, published in Brain, Behavior…

When Dismantling Bacterial Biofilms, the First Line of Defense Comes From Within
 When Dismantling Bacterial Biofilms, the First Line of Defense Comes From Within 1024 575 Natalie Wilson
By: Natalie Wilson
Illustration showing the precise pattern of a biofilm - a perfect, 3D matrix

Researchers identified the mechanism behind the anti-biofilm properties of a protein found in all vertebrates. Too little of this protein allows disease-causing bacteria protected by biofilms to spread, while too much can lead to septic shock. Could a molecule of this protein be engineered to destroy biofilms without negative effects on the body? A team…

Lessons Learned Through a Global Pandemic
 Lessons Learned Through a Global Pandemic 1024 683 Lauren Bakaletz, PhD
By: Lauren Bakaletz, PhD
Lauren Bakaletz, PhD

As a microbiologist and vaccinologist, I spend nearly every day thinking about viruses and bacteria and the diseases they cause, as well as how to best prevent them from doing so. While in graduate school, we were taught about the great ‘flu’ pandemic of 1918 that infected one-third of the world’s population and killed 20-50…

Girls’ Perineal Microbiomes Change Over Development, After Urinary Tract Infection
 Girls’ Perineal Microbiomes Change Over Development, After Urinary Tract Infection 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

Next-generation sequencing reveals different flora associated with developmental milestones in girls, as well as disruptions in patients with a history of urinary tract infection. In a new pilot study, researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital evaluated the microbiomes of girls at specific developmental timepoints. They found shifts in the perineal microbiome corresponding with important developmental milestones,…

Lauren Bakaletz Named 2021 Allen Distinguished Scholar in Pediatric Research
 Lauren Bakaletz Named 2021 Allen Distinguished Scholar in Pediatric Research 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Lauren Bakaletz, PhD, director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, was named the 2021 Allen Distinguished Scholar in Pediatric Research. The award is given in honor of former Nationwide Children’s CEO, Steve Allen, MD, and his role in growing the AWRI into a preeminent research institution.…

Targeting Bacterial Biofilm Linchpin Prevents and Treats Recalcitrant Biofilm-Mediated Infections
 Targeting Bacterial Biofilm Linchpin Prevents and Treats Recalcitrant Biofilm-Mediated Infections 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller
Illustration showing the precise pattern of a biofilm - a perfect, 3D matrix

A new study highlights two approaches with substantive efficacy and potential for broad application to combat biofilm-mediated diseases. Chronic and recurrent bacterial diseases are treatment-resistant due to the ability of the pathogens to establish biofilms, which act as fortresses built of extracellular DNA and proteins to protect populations of the bacteria. For more than 11…

Collaborative Study Seeks to Understand Gene Expression Changes During Acute Events in Patients With SCD
 Collaborative Study Seeks to Understand Gene Expression Changes During Acute Events in Patients With SCD 1024 575 Natalie Wilson
By: Natalie Wilson

Researchers explore gene responses among SCD patients hospitalized for acute complications to inform understandings of the under-studied disease. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic, genetic disorder characterized by structural changes in circulating red blood cells. According to the CDC, SCD affects approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States alone and accounts for 3,000 births…

Using Genomics to Unlock Secrets of Recurrent Ear Infections
 Using Genomics to Unlock Secrets of Recurrent Ear Infections 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller
conceptual art of DNA

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is responsible for many acute and recurrent infections in children, such as otitis media. Otitis media – middle ear infection – is a common type of recurrent infection in children, with as many as 700 million acute cases and 300 million recurrent cases each year. One type of bacteria responsible for…

Unlocking the Structure of Biofilms
 Unlocking the Structure of Biofilms 1024 575 Kevin Mayhood
By: Kevin Mayhood
Illustration showing the precise pattern of a biofilm - a perfect, 3D matrix

Researchers characterize a component that stabilizes biofilms, a step toward learning ways to disrupt protection of harmful bacteria. In the extracellular DNA lattice of bacterial biofilms, nature appears to reprise the functional equivalent of Holliday junction (HJ) intermediates — cross-shaped structures formed during the process of genetic recombination, researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital report in Proceedings…

Study Shows Promising Host-Targeted Approach for the Prevention and Cure of Gonorrhoea in Women
 Study Shows Promising Host-Targeted Approach for the Prevention and Cure of Gonorrhoea in Women 1024 683 Nationwide Children's
By: Nationwide Children's

In research published in mBio, researchers from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics have discovered non-antibiotic (host-targeted) therapies for the effective treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections by repurposing existing drugs. Gonorrhoea is the second most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection (STI). The Centers for Disease Control and…

Redirecting the Natural Immune Response to Disrupt Bacterial Biofilms
 Redirecting the Natural Immune Response to Disrupt Bacterial Biofilms 150 150 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck

A new vaccine candidate has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with chronic, recurrent diseases, such as ear infections. Could this platform technology be an important key in solving the antibiotic resistance threat? Most bacterial species prefer to live in biofilms, where they are protected from antibiotic treatments and can lead to chronic and recurrent…

Gene Expression Changes With CFTR Modulator Treatment
 Gene Expression Changes With CFTR Modulator Treatment 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

Patients with cystic fibrosis show transcriptomic changes after starting treatment with lumacaftor/ivacaftor. In a new study, researchers from Nationwide Children’s analyzed the gene expression profiles of cystic fibrosis patients before and after treatment with the drug lumacaftor/ivacaftor. The findings have implications for the evaluation of existing medications as well as the development of new treatments. Care…

Development of Innovative Scoring Systems for Sickness and Tissue Damage From Clostridium difficile Colitis
 Development of Innovative Scoring Systems for Sickness and Tissue Damage From Clostridium difficile Colitis 1024 575 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck

In a new publication, the team reported the development of two novel scoring systems to consistently and efficiently assess sickness and tissue injury during antibiotic-associated C. difficile colitis in a murine model. “My laboratory at Nationwide Children’s Research Institute has collaborated for several years with two other laboratories, those of Dr. Steven Goodman and Dr. Michael Bailey.…

What’s Next for NEC?
 What’s Next for NEC? 898 504 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Red. White. Black. These are the colors of necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. When surgeons open the distended abdomens of the tiny infants affected by NEC, they see a mottled mixture of red (inflamed), white (ischemic) and black (dead) tissue. Their first task is to assess whether or not there is enough viable tissue to save.…

Bacteria Hiding Out Inside Epithelial Cells May Promote Recurring Ear Infections
 Bacteria Hiding Out Inside Epithelial Cells May Promote Recurring Ear Infections 1024 575 Rachael Hardison
By: Rachael Hardison

Middle ear infections, also known as otitis media (OM), remain a health care concern for children in the United States and across the world, despite recent therapeutic and technological advances. For the subset of children with chronic or recurring infections, OM becomes a significant socioeconomic burden for caregivers. Chronic or recurrent episodes of OM can…

Targeting a Bacterial Switch to Treat Chronic Ear Infections
 Targeting a Bacterial Switch to Treat Chronic Ear Infections 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

A Better Way to Administer Probiotics?
 A Better Way to Administer Probiotics? 150 150 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Researchers have designed a delivery system to treat premature infants with necrotizing enterocolitis that may have applications beyond the NICU. Most of the time, we think biofilms are bad news. And when pathogenic microbes form biofilms, they are. The biofilms created by pathogenic microbes create fortresses that make them resistant to attack by the immune…

Why Obese Women Have More Surgical Infections After Cesarean Delivery
 Why Obese Women Have More Surgical Infections After Cesarean Delivery 1024 575 Jeb Phillips
By: Jeb Phillips
Illustration showing the precise pattern of a biofilm - a perfect, 3D matrix

Even though all pregnant woman typically undergo a standardized antiseptic preparation before a cesarean delivery, obese women are twice as likely to develop a surgical site infection after the procedure as women with a normal body mass index. A new, first-of-its-kind study from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital shows why — and…

Mechanism for Expulsion of DNA from NTHI Described
 Mechanism for Expulsion of DNA from NTHI Described 150 150 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Researchers at Nationwide Children’s publish breakthrough discovery revealing how DNA and DNABII proteins are released into the biofilm matrix. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) bacteria, a common culprit in otitis media, are known for their ability to create dense biofilms. As the subject of much biofilm and vaccine research, they are increasingly understood as complex and surprising organisms.…

Needle-free Immunization Prevents Experimental Otitis Media
 Needle-free Immunization Prevents Experimental Otitis Media 1024 575 Tiasha Letostak, PhD
By: Tiasha Letostak, PhD
Close up, color image of someone extending a gloved hand with a small patch face up on their pointer finger that resembles a circular adhesive bandage that has a smaller, blue square patch on its center

The first data to demonstrate the efficacy of a simple, needle-free vaccine delivery system for middle ear infections. Otitis media (OM), or middle ear infection, accounts for approximately 30 million doctor visits a year in the U.S. The pathogen nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) causes the majority of cases of ear infection, including chronic OM, recurrent OM, and…

The Maternal Microbiome: How Stress During Pregnancy Impacts Female Offspring in Adulthood
 The Maternal Microbiome: How Stress During Pregnancy Impacts Female Offspring in Adulthood 150 150 Tiasha Letostak, PhD
By: Tiasha Letostak, PhD

A recent study suggests a critical window of pregnancy where stress is able to influence the microbiome and intrauterine environment, with lasting behavioral consequences. Previous research has demonstrated that stress during pregnancy changes the composition of the intestinal microbiota and is related to the emergence of behavioral disorders such as anxiety and depression. A new…

Mechanism of Bacterial Adhesion to Platelets Revealed
 Mechanism of Bacterial Adhesion to Platelets Revealed 150 150 Tiasha Letostak, PhD
By: Tiasha Letostak, PhD

Researchers investigate a key protein required to bind two distinct receptors on the bacteria Streptococcus oralis involved in infective endocarditis. Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infection of the endocardium, usually of the valves, and is caused by infectious agents that are typically bacterial. Understanding how these bacterial infections occur is important to the prevention, treatment…

Hospitals Should Use Genotyping to Monitor Bacterial Infections
 Hospitals Should Use Genotyping to Monitor Bacterial Infections 150 150 Kevin Mayhood
By: Kevin Mayhood

A team led by a pulmonologist-researcher found that in a children’s hospital, an unexpected pathogen emerges as a common cause of infection. The bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii is a widely-reported cause of healthcare-associated infections, particularly in adult intensive care units in developing countries. But a retrospective study of isolated cases at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that Acinetobacter pittii recently emerged…

The Collapse of Biofilms?
 The Collapse of Biofilms? 1024 575 Jeb Phillips
By: Jeb Phillips
Illustration showing the precise pattern of a biofilm - a perfect, 3D matrix

Scientists are working to eliminate the causes of countless chronic and recurrent human infections. Before the discoveries that could lead to biofilm eradication, before the idea that he was even working on treatments for the bacterial communities that are crucial to most human infections, Steven Goodman, PhD, had a mystery on his hands. For nearly 15 years. Dr. Goodman, then a biochemist…

Researchers Describe Molecular Switch Controlling “Chameleon” Bacteria
 Researchers Describe Molecular Switch Controlling “Chameleon” Bacteria 150 150 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Closing the gap on developing a vaccine for middle ear infections. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics in Australia have discovered groundbreaking evidence that will help vaccine developers in their search for a vaccine against multiple infections of the respiratory tract, including middle ear infections. The research, published today in Nature…

Building the Modern-Day Vaccine
 Building the Modern-Day Vaccine 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Vaccine development used to be straightforward. Now, the challenges are many and the successes are few. What will it take to overcome the obstacles presented by both immunology and society? For 160 years, vaccine after vaccine succeeded at safely and effectively preventing its targeted illness using a set of standard strategies. Scientists knew they simply…