NEWS Study prompts VAP breakthrough
Scientists at the University of Warwick have made a breakthrough which could help find new treatments for a deadly infection that can affect up to 40% of hospital patients using mechanical ventilators. Ventilator-associated pneumonia
(VAP) is a common infection in patients using ventilators, particularly for those with existing respiratory conditions like COVID-19. VAP is transmitted by germs that stick to the breathing tubes, which are often resistant to antibiotics. Up to 40% of ventilated patients in intensive care wards will develop VAP, with 10% of those patients dying as a result. In a recent study, published in
Microbiology, researchers recreated hospital conditions to improve understanding of the
Collaboration to accelerate oncology research
Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, in partnership with Illumina, a leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, offers a promising new approach to oncology research delivering faster results with fewer touchpoints. The Illumina TruSight Oncology 500 DNA/ RNA assay on the Biomek NGeniuS System from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences provides an automated solution enabling comprehensive genomic profiling of tumour samples. The application supports both DNA and RNA inputs, enabling the detection of critical cancer biomarkers including single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions, deletions, gene amplifications, fusions, and splice events. Complete library preparation can be achieved in less than three days, providing faster results with automated precision from sample preparation to sequencing. Four to 24 libraries can be processed in a single batch, accommodating both high-quality and low-quality FFPE samples. The assay is also optimised for reduced plastic use and lower consumable costs, making cutting- edge research more accessible and sustainable.
The new application joins the Illumina
DNA Prep, DNA PCR-Free Prep, and RNA Prep with Enrichment applications, which are all available in a first-of-its-kind open chemistry, cloud-based Biomek NGeniuS System Applications Library.
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infection. They used the same type of tubes that go into patients’ airways and created a special mucus to simulate the conditions inside a human body. Bacteria and fungi formed a slimy biofilm layer on these tubes. Dr Dean Walsh, Research Fellow, University of Warwick, said: “Our study found that the biofilms in our model were different and more complex than those usually grown in standard laboratory
conditions, making them more realistic. Significantly, when we combined antibiotics with enzymes that break down the biofilm’s protective slime layer, the biofilms were more successfully removed than with antibiotics alone. With the enzymes, we could halve the concentration of antibiotics needed to kill the biofilms. So, that suggests we can use our model to identify new VAP treatments that attack the slime layer.” n Walsh D, Parmenter C, Bakker SE, Lithgow T, Traven A, Harrison F. A new model of endotracheal tube biofilm identifies combinations of matrix-degrading enzymes and antimicrobials able to eradicate biofilms of pathogens that cause ventilator-associated pneumonia. Microbiology (Reading). 2024;170(8):
10.doi:10.1099/mic.0.001480
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