Equine Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Ability to Help Fight Bacterial Infections

Antimicrobial resistance is a recognized and growing problem in equine medicine. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have recently been shown to have antimicrobial properties. We are interested in exploring if equine MSCs can reduce bacterial growth in vitro and to understand the cellular mechanisms governing such an effect. This project will provide a baseline for a long-term research program to discover new drugs and/or cell-based products that can potentiate current antimicrobials or even act as antimicrobials on their own in order to combat multidrug resistant bacterial infections in the horse. This foundational work will support future funding applications to conduct clinical trials in client-owned horses of natural diseases.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jonathan LaMarre

Student:

Keith Russell

Partner:

eQcell

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Guelph