How bacteria quickly block antibiotics by changing their outer membrane pores
Official title: Rapid Stress Response in Bacterial Pathogens: the Role of Extant Porins in Antibiotic Tolerance
Funded at Texas Engineering Experiment Station · NIH-11335702 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how common disease-causing bacteria rapidly shut outer membrane pores so antibiotics get into cells less effectively.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Engineering Experiment Station NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Station, United States) |
| Project start | May 28, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $605,277 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI188941-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11335702 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, especially those with recurrent or antibiotic-tolerant infections, could eventually benefit from therapies developed from these findings.
✕Less likely to help
People with infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria or non-bacterial illnesses are unlikely to see direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, scientists will grow major Gram-negative pathogens in the lab and expose them to antibiotics and other chemical stresses to see how fast bacteria change their outer membrane behavior. The team will use rapid uptake assays, imaging, and biochemical tests to measure whether existing porin proteins stop working within minutes of stress. They will compare multiple pathogenic species to learn whether the same fast-response mechanism is widespread. Researchers will also test whether interfering with this rapid porin shutdown can keep antibiotics effective in laboratory models.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal new ways to stop short-term antibiotic tolerance and help existing antibiotics work better.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies showed bacteria can change porin expression over hours or days, but the rapid inactivation of existing porins within minutes is a newer finding and not yet clinically tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
College Station, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lele, Pushkar Prakash — Texas Engineering Experiment Station
- Study coordinator: Lele, Pushkar Prakash
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.