Investigating the pathogenesis of a newly emerged CF pathogen, genus Pandoraea.
We have also been the first group to examine the in vitro pathogenicity of a newly emerging CF pathogen, genus Pandoraea (Caraher et al., J Med Micro 2008) . Several Pandoraea species had colonised the lungs of CF patients and their effects on patient outcome reported, however, the in vitro pathogenicity had not been reported. In response to the emergence of this pathogen in the Irish CF population and its identification at AMNCH, we examined its effects on lung epithelial cells in vitro and showed that nineteen strains across the genus promote a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine response in lung epithelial cells. In general these species were non-invasive and did not form biofilms, suggesting that the inflammatory response that they elicit may be a major factor in the virulence of this species. Studies on the mechanism of this immune response and the effects of this pathogen on lung epithelial cells are ongoing.
