Interfakultäres Institut für Mikrobiologie und Infektionsmedizin

Dr. Abdelhakim Boudrioua

Small molecule inhibitors against Salmonella virulence

Salmonellosis is a major food-borne illness causing approximately 153 million cases and 300,000 deaths per year. The key virulence mechanism enabling non-typhoidal Salmonella to cause systemic infection is its ability to invade and propagate within the intestinal epithelium, thus increasing the risk of life-threatening bloodstream infections. The invasion-related pathogenicity of non-typhoidal Salmonella is mediated by several secretion systems. We are developing a series of synthetic small molecules targeting these secretion systems, subsequently blocking the invasion of Salmonella into human host cells.