BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Multiscale Models for New Antibiotic Technologies - Yiannis Kaznes sis (University of Minnesota) DTSTART:20160412T140000Z DTEND:20160412T150000Z UID:TALK65416@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:INI IT DESCRIPTION: Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are signific ant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. These infections kill ove r 700\,000 people globally every year. Because of the paucity of new antib iotics\, this number may increase to over 10 million by 2050\, surpassing deaths from cancer and diabetes combined (http://amr-review.org/). Using synthe tic biology techniques\, we engineer probiotic bacteria to produce antimic robial peptides (AMPs) and deliver the potent antibiotic proteins in the g astrointestinal tract of hosts. We test this new technology and demonstrat e that it safely reduces multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacteria in the g ut of animals [1\,2]. At the heart of biological engineering effor ts are multiscale models that guide explanations and predictions of the an tagonistic activity of recombinant LAB against pathogenic strains [3]. Mod els are developed to quantify how AMPs kill bacteria at distinct but tied scales. Using atomistic simulations the various interaction steps between peptides and cell membranes are explored. Mesoscopic models are developed to study ion transport and depolarization of membranes treated with AMPs [ 4]. Stochastic kinetic models are developed to quantify the strength of sy nthetic promoters and AMPs expression [5]. In this presentation\, we will discuss how modeling facilitates biological engineering and stress importa nt theoretical and numerical challenges.
References
  1. Volzing K\, Borrero J\, Sadowsky MJ\, Kaznessis YN. &ldquo\;Ant imicrobial Peptides Targeting Gram-negative Pathogens\, Produced and Deliv ered by Lactic Acid Bacteria.&rdquo\; ACS Synth Biol. 2013. 15\;2(11):643- 50. doi: 10.1021/sb4000367 .
  2. Geldart K.\, Borrero J.\, Kaznessis Y .N.\, &ldquo\;A Chloride-Inducible Expression Vector for Delivery of Antim icrobial Peptides Against Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococcus faecium&rdquo\ ;\, Applied and Environmental Microbiology\, 2015 81:11 3889-3897.3.
    3. < li>Kaznessis Y\, &ldquo\;Multiscale Models of Antibiotic Probiotics&rdquo\ ;\, Curr Opin Chem Eng\, 2014\, 1\;6:18-24
  3. Bolintineanu D\, Kaznes sis YN. "Computational studies of protegrin antimicrobial peptides: a revi ew." Peptides. 2011 Jan\;32(1):188-201
  4. Kaznessis YN. Computational methods in synthetic biology. Biotechnol J. 2009 Oct\;4(10):1392-405. doi : 10.1002/biot.200900163. \;
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Newton Institute END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR