Albertus Viljoen Leads Indo-French Collaborative Research on Mycobacterial Biofilms
The Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA) fosters cutting-edge scientific collaboration between India and France. Within this framework, the CEFIPRA Collaborative Scientific Research Programme (CSRP) supports academia-to-academia partnerships across diverse research areas, including health sciences.
Albertus Viljoen will coordinate a CEFIPRA-CSRP project alongside his Indian collaborator, Madhavan K. Nampoothiri from the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST-CSIR), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The project, titled “Molecular Basis of Carbohydrate-Binding Adhesin Function in Mycobacterial Biofilm Formation,” aims to uncover and characterize the molecules that underpin the formation and stability of biofilms produced by mycobacterial pathogens.
Biofilms are bacterial communities encased in an extracellular matrix that protects them from immune defenses and antibiotics. Recent research shows that mycobacteria form biofilms during infection, with matrices rich in sugars, and that biofilm-associated mycobacteria display enhanced resistance to both immune responses and antimicrobial treatments. Given the public health burden of mycobacterial infections and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, developing strategies to prevent biofilm formation or destabilize existing biofilms is a pressing need.
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This project will focus on carbohydrate-binding adhesins, proteins produced by many bacterial pathogens that bind to sugars on both host and bacterial surfaces. These interactions facilitate biofilm formation and cohesion. By identifying and characterizing these adhesins in mycobacteria, the team hopes to reveal the molecular mechanisms crucial for biofilm formation and structural maintenance.
Using an integrated approach that combines molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics with an in vitro model mimicking lung biofilms in patients, the project aims to elucidate how these adhesins function both in the lab and during infection. This research could pave the way for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets, potentially leading to innovative anti-adhesive and anti-biofilm strategies against resistant mycobacterial infections.