CMFI MicrobImage

Real-time imaging of gut microbiome modulation

01.04.2022 bis 01.04.2025

The importance of the gastrointestinal microbiome has been known for over a century, and its imbalances may lead to various life threatening diseases. Strategies aiming at restoring this balance have thus been developed with various amounts of success. The development of such therapies is however hindered by a lack of understanding of the dynamics of the microbiome, an issue compounded by the lack of species-specific in vivo monitoring tools. We propose to develop a novel preclinical Positron Emission Tomography approach based on metabolic engineering enabled click chemistry of radiotracers, which allows highly sensitive, quantitative and species-specific imaging of gut bacteria in vivo. We will apply this approach in a murine model of Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Tm) infection to investigate the protective effect of the probiotic E. coli Nissle and the influence of prebiotics on S. Tm dissemination.