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Innate Immune response to bacterial infections
Andres Floto is Professor of Respiratory Biology at the University of Cambridge, a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator, and Research Director of the Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge.
His research is focused on understanding how immune cells interact with bacteria, how intracellular killing and inflammation are regulated and sometimes subverted during infection, how population-level whole genome sequencing can be used to reveal biology of bacterial infection, and how therapeutic enhancement of cell-autonomous immunity may provide novel strategies to treat multi drug resistant pathogens.
Clinically, he specialises in the treatment of patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), non-CF bronchiectasis, and infections with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM). He is co-chair of the British Thoracic Society NTM guidelines committee, the joint US CF Foundation-European CF Society (ECFS) NTM Guidelines Group and the ECFS working group on NTM.
Selected References
Epidemiology of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) amongst individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Viviani L, Harrison MJ, Zolin A, Haworth CS, Floto RA. J Cyst Fibros. 2016 Mar 31. PMID: 27050794
US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and European Cystic Fibrosis Society consensus recommendations for the management of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in individuals with cystic fibrosis. Floto RA, et al.,. Thorax. 2016 Jan;71 Suppl 1:i1-i22. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2015-207360. PMID: 26666259
Emerging bacterial pathogens and changing concepts of bacterial pathogenesis in cystic fibrosis. Parkins MD, Floto RA. J Cyst Fibros. 2015 May;14(3):293-304. doi: 10.1016/j.jcf.2015.03.012. PMID: 25881770
The growing threat of nontuberculous mycobacteria in CF. Floto RA, Haworth CS. J Cyst Fibros. 2015 Jan;14(1):1-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jcf.2014.12.002. PMID: 25487786
Functional drug screening reveals anticonvulsants as enhancers of mTOR-independent autophagic killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through inositol depletion. Schiebler M, [...], Floto RA. EMBO Mol Med. 2014 Dec 22;7(2):127-39. doi: 10.15252/emmm.201404137. PMID: 25535254
Innate Immunity. A Spaetzle-like role for nerve growth factor β in vertebrate immunity to Staphylococcus aureus. Hepburn L, [...], Floto RA. Science. 2014 Oct 31;346(6209):641-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1258705. PMID: 25359976
Whole-genome sequencing to identify transmission of Mycobacterium abscessus between patients with cystic fibrosis: a retrospective cohort study. Bryant JM, [...], Floto RA. Lancet. 2013 May 4;381(9877):1551-60. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60632-7. PMID: 23541540
Treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus: all macrolides are equal, but perhaps some are more equal than others. Stout JE, Floto RA. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2012 Nov 1;186(9):822-3. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201208-1500ED. PMID: 23118083
Azithromycin blocks autophagy and may predispose cystic fibrosis patients to mycobacterial infection. Renna M, [...], Floto RA. J Clin Invest. 2011 Sep;121(9):3554-63. doi: 10.1172/JCI46095. PMID: 21804191
Autophagic substrate clearance requires activity of the syntaxin-5 SNARE complex. Renna M, Schaffner C, Winslow AR, Menzies FM, Peden AA, Floto RA, Rubinsztein DC. J Cell Sci. 2011 Feb 1;124(Pt 3):469-82. doi: 10.1242/jcs.076489. PMID: 21242315
Small molecule enhancers of rapamycin-induced TOR inhibition promote autophagy, reduce toxicity in Huntington's disease models and enhance killing of mycobacteria by macrophages. Floto RA, Sarkar S, Perlstein EO, Kampmann B, Schreiber SL, Rubinsztein DC. Autophagy. 2007 Nov-Dec;3(6):620-2. PMID: 17786022
Dendritic cell stimulation by mycobacterial Hsp70 is mediated through CCR5. Floto RA, [...], Smith KG, Lehner PJ. Science. 2006 Oct 20;314(5798):454-8. PMID: 17053144
Loss of function of a lupus-associated FcgammaRIIb polymorphism through exclusion from lipid rafts. Floto RA, et al.,. Nat Med. 2005 Oct;11(10):1056-8. PMID: 16170323
The vagus nerve, macrophages, and nicotine. Floto RA, Smith KG. Lancet. 2003 Mar 29;361(9363):1069-70. PMID: 12672307