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LIRA: LsrK as Innovative molecular target for quorum sensing interfering agents for fighting Resistance to Antimicrobials

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Fighting Antibiotic Resistance through the Development of Novel Drugs Targeting Bacterial Communication and Biofilm Formation

The rise of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) poses a dire threat to global health and is projected to become the leading cause of death in the near future. The LIRA project embraces this challenge with the goal of developing new antibacterial agents that act through previously underexplored mechanisms of action.

LIRA aims to disrupt bacterial quorum sensing (QS) — the communication system that governs biofilm formation and antimicrobial resistance — by identifying and developing novel inhibitors of LsrK, a key enzyme in this regulatory pathway. Rather than exerting a direct bactericidal effect, these agents will attenuate bacterial virulence and prevent biofilm development, thereby hindering the emergence of new resistances and enhancing the efficacy of existing antibiotics.

These inhibitors, as pioneers of a new chapter in antimicrobial therapy, will introduce innovative and complementary modes of action to those of current antibacterial drugs, expanding the depleted arsenal available against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Pasquale Linciano
Collaborating Institutions:

  • University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro – Dr. Pietro Cinaglia
  • Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia – Prof. Giampiero Pietrocola