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Livestreamed Session
Livestreamed Session

IMI
Session Type: Symposium

S14--Molecular Basis of Persistent Infection

Friday, October 24, 2025
2:30 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
Location:Ballroom 1

Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is driven by persistent and evolving bacterial infections that exploit the unique airway environment created by CFTR dysfunction. Among the earliest and most prevalent pathogens is Staphylococcus aureus, which adapts to the CF lung through biofilm formation, increased antibiotic resistance, and metabolic flexibility, allowing it to evade host defenses and persist chronically. As CF patients age, Pseudomonas aeruginosa establishes chronic infections through phenotypic changes, including mucoid conversion and biofilm formation, increasing its tolerance to antibiotics and the host immune system. Additionally, polymicrobial communities of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus can establish complex interactions that contribute to chronic infection and disease progression.

Beyond single-species infections, the CF airway harbors a complex polymicrobial community, where interactions among pathogens—including anaerobes such as Prevotella and Veillonella—further enhance persistence. These anaerobes can modulate host immunity, contribute to antibiotic resistance by producing beta-lactamases, and synergize with principal pathogens to exacerbate disease. Emerging and less typical bacteria, such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and nontuberculous mycobacteria, are increasingly recognized as contributors to the chronic infection landscape in CF.

Understanding the molecular basis of these persistent infections, spanning pathoadaptation, interspecies interactions, and the impact of the airway microbiome, remains central to developing novel therapeutic strategies and improving outcomes for individuals with CF.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand how adaptive mutations occur in bacteria in the CF airways that target functions that promote persistence, such as biofilm growth and aggregation.
  • Realize the heterogeneity of bacterial populations in CF infections and the different factettes of the CF airway environment that can drive bacterial adaptation.
  • Summarize the data that implicate anaerobes as pathogens or non-pathogens in people with CF.

Presentations:

  • 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
    S14.1- Mechanisms of Staphylococcus Aureus Pathoadaptation in CF

    Speaker: Barbara C. C. Kahl, MD – University of Münster

  • 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
    S14.2- Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Persistence in the CF Airways

    Speaker: Matthew Parsek, PhD – University of Washington

  • 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
    S14.3- Polymicrobial Mechanisms of Bacterial Persistence in CF

    Speaker: Dominique Limoli, PhD – Indiana University Bloomington

  • 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
    S14.4- Anaerobes and Emerging CF Pathogens

    Speaker: Paul J. Planet, MD, PhD – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia