Nina Ambros / en From building bone to children’s literacy: 36 U of T researchers awarded Canada Research Chairs  /news/building-bone-children-s-literacy-36-u-t-researchers-awarded-canada-research-chairs <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">From building bone to children’s literacy: 36 U of T researchers awarded Canada Research Chairs&nbsp;</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=zJiVFMAP 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=zD2TIqwq 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=tasOtqOW 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=zJiVFMAP" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-08-29T13:51:06-04:00" title="Tuesday, August 29, 2023 - 13:51" class="datetime">Tue, 08/29/2023 - 13:51</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Karina Carneiro,&nbsp;an assistant professor in the Faculty of Dentistry, is one of 36 researchers at U of T and its partner hospitals to receive a new or renewed Canada research chair (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/mariam-matti" hreflang="en">Mariam Matti</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6873" hreflang="en">Nina Ambros</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leah-cowen" hreflang="en">Leah Cowen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6923" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canada-research-chairs" hreflang="en">Canada Research Chairs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/centre-addiction-and-mental-health" hreflang="en">Centre for Addiction and Mental Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-evolutionary-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Evolutionary Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-dentistry" hreflang="en">Faculty of Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/geography-and-planning" hreflang="en">Geography and Planning</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leslie-dan-faculty-pharmacy" hreflang="en">Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">The new and renewed chairs at U of T and its hospital partners were part of a broader research funding announcement by the federal government</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>At the Ƶ’s Faculty of Dentistry, <strong>Karina Carneiro</strong> and her team <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/regenerating-bone-dna-based-biomaterials">are working on developing new treatments</a> to regenerate bone with DNA-based biomaterials.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-07/Canada-Research-Chair_2023-03-23_010-crop_0.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Karina Carneiro (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>The researchers are exploring ways to use synthetic materials, created using DNA nanotechnology, to help bones regenerate and support the body’s efforts to heal them naturally.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>That’s in contrast to current bone repair treatments, which involve taking bone tissue from another part of the body and breaking it into little pieces that can be inserted into the defect.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“Using a DNA-gel for this purpose could be an effective treatment option as it can be injected to fill the defect size fully,” says Carneiro, an assistant professor in the faculty.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“What we believe to be the difference between our DNA gel and other materials being developed is that over time, the DNA can degrade into molecules that promote our own body’s healing mechanism to further regenerate the bone.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Carneiro is one of three researchers at the Faculty of Dentistry to be awarded a new or renewed Canada Research Chair in the latest round – and one of 36 across U of T’s three campuses and hospital partners (<a href="#list">see list below</a>).&nbsp;</p> <p>Established in 2000, the prestigious federal program aims to recruit and retain top researchers and scholars in the country. It invests more than $300 million annually to enable world-class researchers to reach new heights in disciplines spanning engineering, health sciences, humanities and social sciences.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“Congratulations to all the researchers at the Ƶ who received new or renewed Canada Research Chairs in the latest round,” says <strong>Leah Cowen</strong>, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“From using AI to improve medicine and health care to better understanding Indigenous geographies and environmental dispossession, the work by U of T investigators supported by this important federal program is pushing the boundaries of research and innovation – and promises to have a big impact in Canada and around the world.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-07/Canada-Research-Chair_2023-03-23_007-crop_0.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Anil Kishen (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Professor <strong>Anil Kishen</strong>, who is also at the Faculty of Dentistry, will use the funding associated with his Tier 1 Canada Research <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/stimulating-bodys-own-healing-process-nanoparticles">to advance his work in oral health nanomedicine</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>He and his colleagues in the Kishen Lab are using multifunctional bioactive nanoparticles to study how cells communicate with each other and how wounds heal – in particular, how nanoparticles can be used to help save infected natural teeth and treat wounds and ulcers in individuals with diabetes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Kishen says one of the reasons chitosan-based nanoparticles, which are optimized for different therapeutic applications, are so promising is because they’re derived from a naturally occurring molecule that is readily available.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Affordability is important when developing a treatment to reach the masses,” Kishen says.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-07/Canada-Research-Chair_2023-03-23_002-crop_0.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Massieh Moayedi (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>Massieh Moayedi</strong>, an associate professor in the Faculty of Dentistry, is receiving funding to pursue <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/brain-and-pain">research in pain neuroimaging</a> as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“There’s tenuous evidence that body image might be involved in some types of chronic pain,” Moayedi says, adding that his end goal is to understand how pain works so he can improve patient outcomes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>He’s <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/hallmark-study-body-perception-and-chronic-pain-wins-uk-arthritis-society-research-grant">already shown</a> that people with arthritic hands who see the limb looking healthier through a special device experience improvements in pain, so he’s now trying to understand which brain regions are involved.</p> <p>“This chair will give me funding and the capacity to allow me to investigate these questions, and to really understand the relationship between pain and body image.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2023/08/government-of-canada-invests-in-over-4700-researchers-across-the-country.html">announced the CRCs</a> at a press conference on Aug. 29 on behalf of François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, and Mark Holland, minister of health.</p> <p>He also revealed the researchers and projects receiving funding through a diverse array of programs administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).</p> <p>They include the recipients of the <a href="/news/u-t-researchers-receive-grants-research-projects-aim-transform-lives">SSHRC’s Partnership Grants, Partnership Development Grants and Insight Grants</a>, as well as&nbsp;the recipients of the CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), which helps institutions to recruit and retain outstanding researchers, and provide them with the necessary tools and technology to perform their work. Named after a former U of T president, JELF supports projects that deal with a range of pressing issues. This year’s recipients include 35 researchers at U of T and its hospital partners sharing a total of more than $11 million for projects ranging from an assessment of plant responses to environmental change to the development of an ultra-sensitive cryogenic detector for dark matter and neutrino experiments.</p> <p>“The federal government’s ongoing support for research through all of these programs – from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, to the NSERC and CFI grants and the Canada Research Chairs – is critical to supporting the kind of research that ultimately improves lives through new knowledge and innovations,” Cowen said.</p> <hr> <p><strong>&nbsp;Here is the full list of new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at U of T:&nbsp;</strong><a id="list" name="list"></a></p> <p><em>New Canada Research Chairs&nbsp;</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Stephanie Ameis</strong> at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and in the department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in neuroimaging of autism and mental health in youth&nbsp;</li> <li>&nbsp;<strong>Yvonne Bombard</strong> at Unity Health and in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in genomics health services and policy</li> <li><strong>Karina Carneiro</strong> in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tier 2 in DNA-based biomaterials&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Jesse Chao</strong> at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in precision cancer diagnostics and artificial intelligence&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Xi (Becky) Chen-Bumgardner</strong>&nbsp;in the department of applied psychology and human development in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Tier 1 in literacy development of bilingual and multilingual children&nbsp;</li> <li>&nbsp;<strong>Mark Chiew</strong> at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in computational biomedical imaging&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Sarah Crome</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of immunology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in tissue-specific immune tolerance&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Michelle Daigle</strong> in the department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 2 in Indigenous geographies and environmental dispossession&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Karen Davis</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in acute and chronic pain research&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Rahul Gopalkrishnan</strong> in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in computational medicine&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Housheng (Hansen) He</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in RNA medicine&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Margaret Herridge</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in critical illness outcomes and the recovery continuum&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Anil Kishen</strong> in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tier 1 in oral health nanomedicine&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Bowen Li</strong> in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Tier 2 in RNA vaccines and therapeutics&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Iacovos Michael</strong> at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in tumor biology and precision oncology&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Massieh Moayedi</strong> in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tier 2 in pain neuroimaging&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Faiyaz Notta</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in pancreatic cancer and cancer evolution&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Valeria Rac</strong> at the University Health Network and in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in health system and technology evaluation&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Fahad Razak</strong> at Unity Health Toronto and in the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in health-care data and analytics&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Clinton Robbins</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in cardiovascular immunology&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Lena Serghides</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of immunology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in maternal-child health and HIV&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Catriona Steele</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of speech language pathology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in swallowing and food oral processing&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Bo Wang</strong> in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, tier 2 in artificial intelligence for medicine&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p><em>Renewed Canada Research Chairs&nbsp;</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Angela Cheung</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in musculoskeletal and postmenopausal health&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Xi Huang</strong> at the Hospital for Sick Children and in the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in cancer biophysics&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Cendri Hutcherson</strong> in the department of psychology at the Ƶ Scarborough, Tier 2 in decision neuroscience&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Joanne Kotsopoulos</strong> at Women’s College Hospital and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer prevention</li> <li><strong>Arthur Mortha</strong> in the department of immunology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in mucosal immunology&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Kelly O’Brien</strong> in the department of physical therapy in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in episodic disability and rehabilitation&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Trevor Pugh</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in translational genomics&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Diego Restuccia</strong> in the department of economics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 1 in macroeconomics and productivity&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>David Sinton</strong> in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, Tier 1 in energy and fluids&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Olivier Trescases</strong> in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, Tier 2 in power electronic converters&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Joel Watts</strong> in the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in protein misfolding disorders&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Michael Widener</strong> in the department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 2 in transportation and health&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Stephen Wright</strong> in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 1 in population genomics&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:51:06 +0000 lanthierj 302308 at Researchers discover molecule in the mouth that could help eliminate pathogens /news/researchers-discover-molecule-mouth-could-help-eliminate-pathogens <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researchers discover molecule in the mouth that could help eliminate pathogens </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/through-shelving-Glogauer-and-student-crop.jpg?h=9bb78c58&amp;itok=jvUVgPwy 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-05/through-shelving-Glogauer-and-student-crop.jpg?h=9bb78c58&amp;itok=H3B__q5Y 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-05/through-shelving-Glogauer-and-student-crop.jpg?h=9bb78c58&amp;itok=Kjy6OfV5 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/through-shelving-Glogauer-and-student-crop.jpg?h=9bb78c58&amp;itok=jvUVgPwy" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-05-31T10:09:42-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - 10:09" class="datetime">Wed, 05/31/2023 - 10:09</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Researchers Michael Glogauer, right, and Abdelahhad Barbour, left, work in a dry area of a lab that's reserved for data analysis (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6873" hreflang="en">Nina Ambros</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-dentistry" hreflang="en">Faculty of Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Streptococcus salivarius SALI-10&nbsp;could open the door to an alternative to conventional antibiotic treatment</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers at the University Health Network and Ƶ have&nbsp;discovered a new biotherapeutic molecule – produced by a strain of oral probiotic bacteria – that kills infectious pathogens while promoting a healthy microbiome.</p> <p>The findings by&nbsp;<strong>Michael Glogauer</strong>, dentist-in-chief at the University Health Network and a professor in U of T’s Faculty of Dentistry, and <strong>Abdelahhad Barbour</strong>, a molecular microbiologist and former U of T post-doctoral researcher, were recently <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2219392120">published in the </a><em><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2219392120">Proceedings of National Academy of Science</a>.</em></p> <p>Patented as Salivaricin 10 (Sali10), <em>Streptococcus salivarius</em> SALI-10&nbsp;promises to open the door to an alternative to conventional antibiotic treatments and is a novel solution to prevent infectious diseases.&nbsp;</p> <p>While conventional antibiotics, mainly isolated from soil-derived microorganisms, generally have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity that kills good and bad bacteria alike, Sali10 effectively targets infectious pathogens while also maintaining important oral microbiota.</p> <p>“Sali10 kills oral pathogens that cause periodontal diseases as well as many multi-drug resistant respiratory pathogens that cause pneumonia,” Glogauer says.&nbsp;“Unfortunately, less than three per cent of the human population has [their own] <em>S. salivarius</em> that can produce Sali10 in their mouth. We hope to create biotherapeutics in the form of beneficial bacteria with drug-like properties that eventually people can rinse with, or eat foods with, so that their oral microbiome is tipped to a healthy side.</p> <p>“The <em>S. salivarius</em> bacteria themselves are a drug delivery device due to their probiotics properties which enable them to colonize the mouth and produce and release Salivaricin 10 peptides.”&nbsp;</p> <h4>The search for beneficial bacteria</h4> <p>The human microbiome influences our immune system and overall health. Our mouths have the second-largest and most diverse microbiota after the gut, harboring over 700 species of bacteria. With this abundance of microbes within us, there is a rising interest in exploring their health-promoting properties.&nbsp;</p> <p>As part of their effort to find beneficial bacteria in the mouth, Glogauer and Barbour co-founded a U of T-affiliated startup&nbsp;called Ostia Sciences Inc. in 2020.</p> <p>“We look for beneficial bacteria in the mouth called commensals with probiotic properties,”&nbsp; Glogauer says.&nbsp;“They are the opposite of pathogens and keep us healthy.”<br> <br> This project began by isolating Streptococcus salivarius from healthy people’s mouths and observing how these microbes were affecting bacterial pathogens and the innate immune responses. “<em>S. salivarius</em> is [found in] the human oral cavity and the gut, and it co-evolved within the human body over hundreds of thousands of years,” Barbour says.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Some specific strains of commensals can produce peptides called lantibiotics (antibiotics that have lanthionine) that can impair pathogens’ colonization and promote healthy microbiomes. Lantibiotics produced by <em>S. salivarius</em> are called salivaricins.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>"We observed that this previously unidentified structural class of lantibiotics is responsible for many immunomodulatory activities beyond the antimicrobial capacity,” Barbour says.&nbsp;</p> <h4>A breakthrough molecule</h4> <p>In fact, the researchers observed that Sali10 molecules were a chemoattractant to neutrophils, which means that they recruited more immune cells to help fight off infections. Sali10 enhanced phagocytosis, the process by which specialized immune cells like neutrophils engulf and break down harmful substances like bacteria and viruses. It was also observed that Sali10 reduced inflammation through the promotion of anti-inflammatory macrophages.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We wanted to know structurally why these lantibiotic peptides had this incredible multi-functionality. Why was this molecule able to do what it was doing making it superior to other lantibiotics?” Barbour says.&nbsp;</p> <p>The research team applied structural biology analysis and discovered that Sali10 molecules had a phosphorylation site on the N-terminal region of the peptides. “Sali10 is the first phosphorylated lantibiotic ever discovered. This novel structural feature is responsible for the immunoregulatory function,” says Barbour.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>He adds that the discovery raises questions about phosphorylated lantibiotics in other human microbiomes and their role in promoting health.</p> <p>“Having demonstrated the efficacy of Salivaricin 10 in both <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em> models, we plan to commence human clinical trials in the near future to establish its safety and efficacy clinically.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 31 May 2023 14:09:42 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301794 at