Facts

Contact person:
Yashuan Chao
Financer:
  • Biofilms Research Centre for Biointerfaces
Responsible at MaU:
Yashuan Chao
Project members at MaU:
External project members:
  • Johan Malmström – Lunds universitet
Time frame:
01 July 2025 - 30 June 2026
Faculty/department:
Research environment :
Research subject:

Project description

Early colonizers of biofilms in the oral cavity are streptococci. These bacteria are generally associated with oral health but can infect the host and cause systemic diseases, such as infective endocarditis. The transition from normal biofilm colonization in the mouth to causing systemic disease is not well understood.

The purpose of this project is to gain insights into this transition from health to infection and inflammation with oral streptococci. In this project, we plan to characterize the biofilm-derived oral streptococcal populations interacting with immune cells found at different host niches. A focus on niche-distinct bacterial populations and how they interact with the host immune response may reveal new potential treatments to prevent spread and systemic disease with oral streptococci. Our findings may be important for understanding other bacteria that primarily form harmless biofilms during colonization but can become harmful and cause systemic disease.