The effect of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae on the microbiology of the cystic fibrosis lung

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"Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae is a relatively understudied "early" pathogen that colonises the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease leading to the build-up of viscous mucus within the lungs. In CF, H. influenzae is one of the first pathogens to invade the lungs prior to later stage, more severe pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa which are life-threatening. As such, H. influenzae may be paving the way for these later stage pathogens to colonise the lungs.Within my PhD, I am using an ex-vivo pig lung model as a realistic model for the human respiratory tract, combined with synthetic CF sputum media to mimic the nutritional composition of CF sputum. The pig tissue is waste from the meat industry, so the model is ethical. I will use this model to answer key questions relating to how H. influenzae changes its physiology and metabolism to persist in the lungs and resist antibiotic treatment, and to explore whether early infection by H. influenzae makes it easier for other pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa to invade the lungs.An understanding of early bacterial colonisers in the CF lung, such as non-typeable H. influenzae, becomes increasingly important as more people with CF receive treatment and modulator therapy that should prevent progress to "classic" chronic infection with later stage pathogens. As such, the understanding of the physiology and ecology of early-stage pathogen infection will help to shed light on how H. influenzae alters the course of CF disease progression."