Helicobacter infection and microbiota-dependent colonic pathologies (P09)

• Subject Area: Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology ; Gastroenterology ; Immunology ; Virology
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395357507

Helicobacter pylori not only induces gastric cancer but also appears to impact colonic carcinogenesis. We hypothesize that chronic H. pylori infection induces changes in the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thereby promoting carcinogenesis. We will characterize the influence of H. pylori infection on intestinal/colonic inflammation and tumorigenesis and decipher the microbiome signatures involved. These will be further explored in H. pylori-infected patients with colonic pathologies. As a therapeutic approach, we will identify specific bacteriophages using a “viral tagging” approach and test lytic phages for the treatment of H. pylori infection in mice without disruption of the endogenous microbiota.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1371: Microbiome Signatures -- Functional Relevance in the Digestive Tract
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Li Deng; Professor Dr. Markus Gerhard