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Journal articleKwok WC, Pates K, Shah A, et al., 2025,
Antimicrobial resistance in chronic lung infection: the road to resistance.
, ThoraxBACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health crisis and is particularly relevant to people living with chronic lung diseases such as bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These conditions frequently involve acute and chronic bacterial infections, requiring increased antibiotic usage and risk of AMR. Understanding the dynamics of AMR and emerging diagnostic and therapeutic strategies is crucial for optimising patient outcomes in this setting. AIMS: This review explores the interplay between AMR and chronic bacterial lung infections, examining current understanding of pathogen epidemiology, diagnostic strategies, clinical implications of resistance and the impact of treatments. Future directions in research and therapeutic innovation are also outlined. NARRATIVE: Key pathogens in chronic lung infections, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis, exhibit diverse resistance mechanisms and AMR is linked to increased disease severity, exacerbation frequency and mortality, particularly with multidrug-resistant strains. Long-term antibiotic therapies, such as macrolides and inhaled agents, improve clinical outcomes but may drive resistance, necessitating ongoing efforts to understand how they can best be employed. Traditional diagnostic methods, such as culture-based antimicrobial susceptibility testing, often fail to capture the complexity of polymicrobial infections and resistomes. Although advanced techniques like next-generation sequencing and metagenomics are able to identify clinically relevant resistotypes, their development toward clinical utility is still in progress. CONCLUSIONS: AMR in chronic lung infections represents a dynamic and multifaceted challenge. Novel antibiotics, precision medicine approaches and alternative therapies such as bacteriophages show promise but require further validation. Improved stewardship and individualised tre
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Journal articleBustos IG, Serrano-Mayorga CC, Guerrero JL, et al., 2025,
Longitudinal analysis of lung microbiome, immune response, and metabolism in ventilator-associated pneumonia: a cohort study.
, Crit Care, Vol: 29RATIONALE: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common complication in patients under invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), yet its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigated the lung microbiome, inflammatory response, and metabolism in patients undergoing IMV to identify factors that may predispose them to developing VAP. OBJECTIVES: To investigate how changes in lung microbiome composition, inflammatory response, and metabolic profiles may predispose patients undergoing IMV to develop VAP. METHODS: Patients requiring IMV for at least 48 h due to non-infectious respiratory failure were enrolled. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were collected at baseline, upon VAP diagnosis, or after 72 h for non-VAP cases. DNA sequencing, cytokine quantification, and metabolomic analyses were performed. RESULTS: Of the 80 patients, 41 (51%) developed VAP. No significant differences in alpha or beta diversity of the lung microbiome were observed between groups. However, both groups showed changes in microbiome composition over time, suggesting an impact of IMV. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) lung levels were significantly higher in VAP patients, while lung interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) increased in all patients. Metabolomic analysis revealed shifts in pentose phosphate and citric acid cycle pathways, indicating a transition to anaerobic metabolism in the lungs of VAP patients. CONCLUSIONS: Mechanical ventilation was associated with temporal changes in lung microbiome composition independent of VAP development. VAP cases exhibited higher TNF-α levels and metabolic profiles indicative of anaerobic adaptation, while IL-1β elevations were primarily linked to mechanical ventilation rather than infection.
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Journal articleGnaim R, Ledesma-Amaro R, 2025,
Synthetic biology of Fusarium for the sustainable production of valuable bioproducts
, Biotechnology Advances, Vol: 81, ISSN: 0734-9750Synthetic biology offers transformative opportunities to optimise Fusarium species as efficient platforms for the sustainable production of diverse bioproducts. Advanced engineering techniques, including CRISPR/Cas9, RNA interference and synthetic promoters, have enhanced the manipulation of metabolic pathways, enabling higher yields of industrially relevant compounds. Recent insights from next-generation sequencing and omics technologies have significantly expanded our understanding of Fusarium's metabolic networks, leading to more precise strain engineering. Despite these advances, challenges such as metabolic bottlenecks, regulatory complexities and strain stability remain significant barriers to industrial-scale applications. The development of efficient genetic tools, together with the expansion of our knowledge of Fusarium physiology and genetics thanks to systems biology approaches, holds promise to unlock Fusarium's full potential as a sustainable cell factory. This review focuses on the genetic and metabolic tools available to enhance Fusarium's capacity to produce biofuels, pharmaceuticals, enzymes and other valuable compounds. It also highlights key innovations and discusses future directions for leveraging Fusarium as an environmentally friendly bioproduction system.
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Journal articleLee T, Hill K, Caudri D, et al., 2025,
Pulmonary endpoints in clinical trials for children with cystic fibrosis under two years of age
, Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, Vol: 24, Pages: 669-683, ISSN: 1569-1993Cystic fibrosis is a lifelong progressive disease in which lung disease is the main prognostic factor, where starting early treatment is crucial for improving long-term outcomes. Therefore, new treatment should be available as early as possible. However, choosing appropriate and feasible clinical trial endpoints in children under 2 years of age presents significant challenges. Most studies in this age group have extrapolated pulmonary efficacy from older age groups, focusing on safety, pharmacokinetics, and biomarker response. As lung health is near normal in infants, demonstrating absence of pulmonary decline requires large sample sizes and extended study duration, which may not be feasible for standard regulatory trials. To address this gap, the European Cystic Fibrosis Society Clinical Trials Network developed a consensus document evaluating direct pulmonary endpoints for therapeutic pulmonary studies in this young age group. The pulmonary endpoints evaluated include multiple-breath washout (MBW); chest computed tomography (CT); chest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); airway infection and inflammation. Relevant literature, pitfalls, practice guidelines, and recommendations are presented. None of the pulmonary endpoints evaluated are currently suitable to serve as a primary efficacy endpoint in children below 2 years of age, as this will require large numbers and long follow-up. For clinical trials in infants with CF, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and tolerability should remain the primary endpoints, with pulmonary endpoints as secondary or exploratory outcomes. Post authorization studies are essential to evaluate long-term pulmonary benefits, including MBW, structural lung assessment (e.g. CT and MRI), and markers of pulmonary inflammation to fully understand the impact of early therapy initiation in this young population.
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Journal articleWaring BG, Lancastle L, Bell T, et al., 2025,
Windthrow disturbance impacts soil biogeochemistry and bacterial communities in a temperate forest
, Plant and Soil: international journal on plant-soil relationships, Vol: 512, Pages: 395-408, ISSN: 0032-079XAimsForests across the world are subject to disturbance via wind, wildfire, and pest and disease outbreaks. Yet we still have an incomplete understanding of how these stressors impact forest biota—particularly the soil microbes, which govern forest carbon and nutrient cycling.MethodsHere, we investigated the impact of a severe windstorm on soil bacterial communities in Kielder Forest, a temperate coniferous forest in the north of England. Within ten individual sites, defined by common stand composition and topography, we established 50 m2 plots in undisturbed stands, and in nearby stands that were moderately and/or severely disturbed by windthrow. Soils were sampled within each of the 22 study plots, and analysed for changes in carbon and nitrogen content, pH, root biomass, and bacterial community structure. We separately sequenced bacteria from bulk soils, rhizosphere soils, and root tissues to assess whether disturbance impacts varied based on the proximity of microbiota to tree roots.ResultsLess than a year after the storm, we found that the most severely disturbed stands had lower canopy cover, lower soil carbon content, higher soil pH, and a smaller fine root biomass than the undisturbed stands. Disturbance also impacted bacterial community beta-diversity, but the effects were subtle and did not vary among assemblages in bulk vs. rhizosphere soils.ConclusionsImpacts of aboveground disturbance on soil biogeochemistry can be significant, but soil bacterial communities are relatively well-buffered against these changes. However, altered patterns of root growth and carbon cycling may have longer-term implications for forest recovery after windthrow disturbances.
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Journal articleXue Y, Verdross P, Liang W, et al., 2025,
Breaking the ice: Applications of photothermal superhydrophobic materials for efficient deicing strategies
, ADVANCES IN COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE, Vol: 341, ISSN: 0001-8686- Cite
- Citations: 14
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Journal articleMall MA, Wainwright CE, Legg J, et al., 2025,
Elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor in children aged ≥6 years with cystic fibrosis heterozygous for<i> F508del</i> and a minimal function mutation: results from a 96-week open-label extension study
, EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, Vol: 66, ISSN: 0903-1936- Cite
- Citations: 1
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Journal articleIvan FX, Mac Aogáin M, Ali NABM, et al., 2025,
Occupational exposure to printer toner-emitted nanoparticles at printing facilities influences air and airway microbiomes.
, NanoImpact, Vol: 39Workplace exposure to printer toner-emitted nanoparticles at commercial printing facilities poses respiratory health risks to workers on the printing floor, however, its impact on environmental and airway microbiomes and how this relates to worker health remains unknown. To investigate this, we prospectively evaluated five printing centres in Singapore, collecting air samples from office areas and printing floors and airway specimens from workers stationed in office or printing floor areas. All specimens were subjected to targeted amplicon sequencing to determine bacteriome and mycobiome profiles. Relationships between nanoparticle exposure levels, air and airway microbiomes were assessed. We reveal that nanoparticle exposure at printing facilities was significantly associated with shifts in air microbiome profiles in high-exposure printing areas relative to low-exposure office areas. Microbiome correlates of indoor air chemical exposures, mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace elements, were identified. Lung function and airway microbiomes were influenced by nanoparticle exposure where printing floor workers demonstrate reduced lung function, independent of exposure level, with airway microbiomes characterized by enrichment of Chryseobacterium, Porphyromonas and Candida. Assessment of potential air-airway microbial crossover at each site, accounting for nanoparticle exposure levels, reveals significant increases in bacterial but not fungal crossover in printing floor workers. Taken together, this study demonstrates altered environmental and airway microbiomes at commercial printing facilities and in printing floor workers. Further research is needed to assess the long-term health impacts of such exposure including the potential for microbial profiling in printing facility design and operation.
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Journal articleKandeloos A, Eder T, Hetey D, et al., 2025,
Expanding Transparent Covalently Attached Liquid-Like Surfaces for Icephobic Coatings with Broad Substrate Compatibility
, ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES, Vol: 12, ISSN: 2196-7350- Cite
- Citations: 4
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Journal articleFisher MC, 2025,
Origins of the 'vampire fungus' that causes white-nose syndrome in bats
, NATURE, Vol: 642, Pages: 869-870, ISSN: 0028-0836
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